


Villains Are Human Too

by Lizz_Mayhem



Series: Sanders Sides Drabbles [25]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series), Thomas Sanders
Genre: AU, M/M, Prinxiety - Freeform, Villains, heros, logicality - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2019-08-03
Packaged: 2019-08-29 01:44:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 35
Words: 44,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16734690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lizz_Mayhem/pseuds/Lizz_Mayhem
Summary: AU in which Logan is a villain, Virgil is his son, Roman is the teenage hero and Patton is the town baker. Hijinks and romance ensue.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The title's a bit meh but I hope you like this new fic! (Pls tell me what you think of it)

The fire had been unintentional. What had started off as a small spark had erupted into a problem big enough to call the fire department.

 

 _Damn_.

 

Roman stood outside the flame-engulfed apartment building with the rest of the confused patrons. Someone had called the fire department before the fire had even started but no one could identify who had done it.

 

“Well, _someone_ must have known!” the fire marshal insisted. “The call came from _inside_ the building.” A murmur arose from the patrons. The fire marshal sighed and turned to Roman. “I wouldn’t suppose you have any suspects?”

 

Roman shrugged and glanced up towards the building. The glowing flames swayed and licked at the sky. Thankfully, they didn’t seem to be spreading.

 

“Aside from the usual, no,” he finally stated. “I’d need to know how the fire started. And where it started. Then we could start forming suspects.”

 

“That’s all?” the marshal asked. Roman nodded.

 

“Knowing how it started reveals the suspect’s tactics. Knowing where it started reveals the person’s intentions, if only slightly.” The marshal looked towards the building, frowning.

 

“Once we know, do you think we can catch them?” Roman shook his head.

 

“They were sneaky enough to get away-”

 

“Since you weren’t there.” Roman turned to the marshal, grinning.

 

“True. Maybe we _can_ catch the suspect.”

 

A loud clap of thunder startled everyone. They all looked to the sky and noticed that large storm clouds had gathered and were making their way towards them.

 

“Everyone, let’s get to shelter!” shouted the fire marshal. “Under the trees, now!”

 

**~~~~~~~~~~**

 

“Dad! I’m home!” Virgil yelled as he slipped his shoes off and placed them in the little cubby hole beside the door. He glanced into the living room to see a half empty coffee mug, notebooks scattered on the floor, and a large blueprint spread across the paper.

 

_New invention, huh?_

 

Virgil walked upstairs and into his room. He threw his backpack to the side and trudged back downstairs where he found Logan sitting on the couch sipping from his coffee mug. Logan held up a purple mug. Virgil smiled and gently took the mug from him.

 

“Thanks. That’s just what I needed.” He noticed Logan’s small smile before it disappeared as he turned the tv on.

 

“Virgil,” Logan started. “You know I care for you very much, yes?” Virgil frowned.

 

“What did you do this time?” he asked. Logan didn’t immediately reply. Instead, he turned on the tv and the two watched as the news broadcasted a burnt apartment building. “Oh my god, dad, don’t tell me you-”

 

Logan turned up the volume on the tv.

 

“You can clearly see what remains of the fire that took place here. No one is sure how the fire started or who called the fire department in the first place. The residents of the building are safe-” the camera panned to the huddled group of people under the trees “-and the police are currently investigating the cause of the fire and if there was any foul play here.”

 

The tv shut off and Logan turned to Virgil, whose jaw had dropped.

 

“Dad, what did you do?!”

 

Logan glanced down at the floor.  


“I may or may not have tried to set your bully’s project on fire-”

 

“Dad!”

 

“It was an accident, Virgil! I hadn’t realized that he had flammable objects literally _everywhere_ in his room-”

 

“Dad-”

 

“And I hadn’t intended for it to spread to the entire building-”

 

“DAD OH MY GOD BURNING HIS PROJECT BECAUSE HE BULLIED ME DOESN’T JUSTIFY ANY OF THIS OR YOUR ACTIONS!!!!”

 

Logan sighed and looked up at Virgil who looked, understandably, upset.

 

“I just wanted justice to be served-”

 

“DAD THIS IS NOT THE WAY JUSTICE IS SERVED AND YOU KNOW THAT!!!!”

 

Logan nodded and turned away from him.

 

_I can’t argue with that, now can I?_

 

Logan heard Virgil sigh and felt the couch shift. He glanced over to see Virgil had sat down beside him and sipped from his mug.

 

“Listen, dad. I appreciate the sentiment, I really do, but-”

 

“It was irrational and impulsive, I know.”

 

“I was gonna say that it was stupid and pointless but that works too.” Logan looked up at Virgil, who smiled. “You know Roman’s gonna be _all over_ this, right?” Logan groaned and leaned back in his seat.

 

“Yes, I am aware…”

 

“Good. Now you’re gonna see the consequences of your actions and try to act as though you are not, in fact, a villain when you see him in town tomorrow.”

 

Another groan escaped from Logan.

 

"That boy causes more problems than he's worth."

 

"You sure about that?"

 

Logan stared at Virgil but remained silent. Virgil grinned and took a victory sip from his mug.


	2. Chapter 2

The bakery was a little quiet today. Patton wasn’t sure whether to worry about it or to relish in the mass amount of free time he could possibly be using. The bell chimed and Patton decided to cast aside the thought for now.

 

As he reached the counter, Patton was utterly surprised to find Roman standing there, waiting for him.

 

“Roman!” he exclaimed as he ran up and hugged him. Roman laughed and returned the hug.

 

“Padre, how are you?” he asked as they let go.

 

“I’m doing good! You?” Roman shrugged.

 

“Well, I’m alright. Just stressed.”

 

“The fire?” Roman nodded and leaned against the counter.

 

“We found out how and where it started…turns out some kid’s project caught fire but…I don’t know, I feel like there’s foul play here…”

 

Patton walked behind the counter and assorted a few pastries onto a tray. He then placed the tray in front of Roman.

 

“Aw, Patton. Thank you.” Patton smiled. Roman took a bite of one of the pastries and smiled. “I’ve already told you how good your baking is, right?” Patton laughed and nodded.

 

As Roman continued to eat his pastries, Logan walked in. As soon as Logan spotted Roman, he stood by the door, contemplating whether he should just walk right back out.

 

_ No, that would make me look suspicious. Besides, I’m already inside. _

 

Logan made his way over to the counter, smiling. Patton gasped and smiled as he noticed Logan.

 

“Logan! Good to see you!”

 

“It’s good to see you too, Patton.”

  
Roman glanced over at Logan and frowned slightly.

 

_ So, this is the guy, huh? _

 

Roman wasn’t necessarily the judgy type but when it came to Patton, he couldn’t stop himself from analyzing each guy Patton talked to. He obviously cared for his friend but maybe he cared a little too much.

 

When Roman snapped himself back into reality, he noticed that Patton was handing a small bag to Logan. Their hands barely touched yet Roman could see that Logan had flinched slightly at the contact.

 

“So, I‘ll be seeing you next week?” Patton asked. Logan nodded.

 

“Along with a surprise.” Patton gasped.

 

“A surprise?” Logan nodded again. “Well then, I’ll be looking forward to next week!” Logan’s smile widened as he walked out of the bakery. Roman watched as his figure disappeared. “Something wrong kiddo?” Roman shook his head as he turned back to Patton.

 

“Nothing…Who was that?”

 

“Oh, Logan. He’s new around here, lives in the outskirts of town. Comes in once a week.”

 

“Do you know anything else about him?” Patton leaned over the counter and rubbed his chin.

 

“Well, I know that he works from home. I can’t remember what he told me he does…writing? Something like that…” Roman hummed slightly and took a bite out of another one of his pastries. “What is it?”

 

“I don’t know…there’s something about him that’s just…” Roman gently nibbled on his pastry as his words trailed off. Patton waited for him to continue but Roman didn’t continue. Instead, he slowly shook his head as he finished off his pastry.

 

“Alright, let’s move on then.” Roman looked up at Patton, who smiled. “Tell me about that crush of yours you mentioned the other day.” Roman felt his face heat up.

 

“Oh gee, now?” Patton laughed.

 

“Since when did you become shy?”

 

Roman glanced down at the floor and rubbed the back of his neck.

 

_ Ever since I realized the guy I’m in love with doesn’t know I exist. _

 

“I, uh…there isn’t much to tell-”

 

“Oh, I’m sure there is! Come on, at least tell me what he looks like.” Roman’s face darkened as his crush popped into his head.

 

Socially awkward yet charming. Taller than Roman yet he slouched to make himself smaller. Maybe that was part of the anxiety he had. His hair was short yet he his long purple bangs covered his eyes which annoyed Roman to an extent. Roman had always valued seeing a person’s eyes so when he found out he couldn’t see his crush’ eyes, well, it made him all the more mysterious. And that made Roman like him even more.

 

“Well, he…he’s cute, that’s for sure. I don’t think he realizes it, though.”

 

“Oh?” Roman nodded.

 

“Yeah. He’s always being put down…” Roman frowned. “Stupid Ethan.” Patton gasped.

 

“Am I sensing a rivalry here?” he teased. Roman clenched a fist.

 

“Well, if it’s a rivalry,  _ I’m  _ winning. That idiot doesn’t know what’s coming for him.”

 

“And what exactly is coming?”

 

“My fist to his face.”

 

“Roman!”

 

Roman sighed and glanced down at the floor.

 

“I’m sorry, Patton. It’s just…he’s annoying and he thinks it’s hilarious when he puts other people down…”

 

“I see. And your crush…?”

 

“Is one of those people, yeah.”

 

Roman laid his head on the counter and let out another long sigh. Patton gently patted his head.

 

“I’m sure it’ll stop, Roman. And when it does, your crush will start to pay more attention to you and, well, we’d have to start planning the wedding early, now wouldn’t we?” Roman blushed.

 

“Patton!”

 

“What? Too much?”


	3. Chapter 3

Backpack? Check. House keys? Check. Self-esteem and confidence? Thrown right into the trash.

 

Virgil could see hell looming a mile before him. The towering building seemed too large to fit comfortably in its tiny space within the town but the residents didn’t seem to mind.

 

To say he hated the school would be a severe understatement. The entire school practically hated him and he hated it back. Not to mention Ethan, his worst problem. Of course, that problem had been momentarily solved but Virgil was sure Ethan would somehow use that to fuel his anger against Virgil (which was irrational but  _ everything  _ Ethan did was irrational).

 

As Virgil approached the gates, he contemplated calling it a day and walking all the way back home just to have Logan call in and excuse his absence. Logan wouldn’t be against it. In fact, he’d encourage it. For all Logan was intelligent, he did not have the requirements to homeschool him (which Virgil thought was bullshit), thus why he was being sent to the public school in the first place. Furthermore, the only reason Virgil hadn’t been attacked yet was because a rumor had spread about his dad having control over the city and no one would want to risk finding out if the rumor was true or not.

 

Virgil slipped past the gates and sighed.

 

_ Maybe tomorrow. Or maybe I’ll just call him to pick me up early. _

 

Virgil quietly made his way down the halls and managed to slip past a majority of the students. Unfortunately, there was always the one he could never pass.

 

“Well, looks like the Emo Nightmare has arrived,” Virgil heard an all too familiar voice hiss. He glanced behind him to see Ethan standing there with his hands shoved into his pockets.

 

“Nice to see you too, Ethan.” Ethan smirked and walked beside Virgil.

 

Virgil did his best not to pay attention to Ethan. Ethan’s scars weren’t helping him, though. Ethan had long scars on the side of his face. From what Virgil could gather, they were scars from a fire. What happened in order to get those scars was beyond Virgil and Virgil was perfectly content not knowing how Ethan got those scars.

 

“So, my apartment got burned down the other day…”

 

_ What the hell? Are you seriously trying to  _ **_brag_ ** _ about this? _

 

“And what? You want me to pity you?” Ethan frowned.

 

“What? Not tragic enough for you?”

 

“Call me when you witness your parents’ murder and nearly die from being left without a home.”

 

Ethan went quiet. Hell, it seemed like  _ everyone  _ went quiet. Virgil continued walking.

 

_ Keep your cool. Don’t let Ethan try to win this one. _

 

Of course, the scenario he had implied did not happen to him (thankfully). If anything, the only detail that would be considered remotely factual would be his parents’ death. Virgil’s actual parents, anyway. Logan is Virgil’s adoptive father. Story goes that Logan found him one day when he was traveling from town to town (y’know, as you do when you’re a wanted villain and trying to escape the clutches of heroes) and was too heartbroken to leave him alone. Virgil could only assume his parents had either abandoned him or they had been murdered.

 

Or maybe the story wasn’t true at all.

 

But that’s a thought for another time.

 

As Virgil was about to round the corner of the hall, he was pushed against the wall with such a strong force that the air was knocked out of him. He wheezed as he heard Ethan laugh.

 

“You don’t know who you’re messing with, Virgil. I’ll have you know that-”

 

“Hey, Ethan!”

 

Everyone turned to see the school’s popular, Roman. He stood a few feet away, glaring at Ethan with his arms crossed over his chest.

 

“Let him go.” Ethan rolled his eyes.

 

“Or else what, Princey?”

 

“Or else I kick your ass into next week, that’s what.”

 

Everyone gasped. Virgil stared at Roman.

 

_ Shit, this guy’s actually serious… _

 

Tension hung thick in the air. As silence filled the halls, Virgil couldn’t help but notice something. Maybe it was the heroic stance or maybe it was the glint of mischief in Roman’s eyes or  _ maybe _ it was the faint blush that had begun to form on Ethan’s cheeks but something told Virgil that there was more to this than just Roman helping him out because he was a hero and Ethan picking on him because he wanted to.

 

_ I have to tell dad about this. _

 

Suddenly, Ethan let go of Virgil. Virgil stumbled away and heard whispers fill the halls.

 

_ I am  _ **_not_ ** _ sticking around for this… _

 

Virgil ran down the hall and disappeared into a classroom, unbeknownst to him that a certain admirer had watched him leave.

 

**~~~~~~~~~~**

 

The only light source present in the room was Logan’s desk lamp. Logan sat hunched over a new blueprint he was working on.

 

_ Now if I can ignite this manually…no, perhaps I can do it remotely… _

 

He set his pencil down and rubbed his tired eyes.

 

_ Or perhaps it’s time for a break. _

 

Logan adjusted his glasses and shut off the desk lamp. He then stood up, stretched and opened up the two windows looking into the room. He placed a hand over his eyes as the sunlight poured through the windows.

 

“Must you always be so bright?” Logan muttered as he backed away. He leaned against his desk and waited for his eyes to adjust to the sunlight.

 

Just then, his phone rang. He glanced around the room for it but then groaned as he came to the realization that he had left his phone on the coffee table. He trudged out of the room, stretching some more and complaining of getting old, and picked up his phone. Virgil was calling him.

 

“What’s wrong?” Logan immediately asked. “Is it too overwhelming for you today? Is it Ethan? Do I need to come pick you up or-”

 

“No, dad, everything’s alright,” Virgil interrupted. “For now, anyway. But that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.” Logan waited for Virgil to continue. “So, when’s your next grand plan happening?”   
  


Logan glanced at the calendar hanging on the fridge. He managed to read the bolded “ANNOY EMPLOYEE WHO PURPOSELY SPILLED VIRGIL’S DRINK ON MY SHIRT” written in red ink. It was circled as well, just in case Logan had somehow forgotten how important the task was.

 

“Well, I don’t necessarily have one yet…Just a minor plan coming up in a few days. Why do you ask?”

 

“Well, I have a plan…”

 

“Oh?”

 

Virgil didn’t say anything but Logan could hear some light breathing. Perhaps he was laughing.

 

“Yeah, I have an idea. You can reject it, of course, but-”

 

“No, no! I want to hear this.”

 

“Alright, so!” Logan heard the sound of papers being shuffled and he smiled at the thought of Virgil having a folder filled with ‘evil’ schemes. “Today something happened-” Virgil’s words abruptly stopped and Logan could hear a group of kids laughing in the background. The two waited until the laughter had faded. “Ethan tried to bully me again.” Logan scowled.

 

“Oh.”

 

_ That boy doesn’t know what’s coming for him… _

 

“Yeah. But! I managed to avoid him with the help of Roman.”

 

“ _ Oh _ ?”

 

“Now hear me out! Hear me out!” Virgil insisted. “Before you start jumping to conclusions, hear me out!” Logan didn’t say anything. “Alright, good. Now I  _ know  _ you’re scowling so stop it.” Logan sighed and relaxed. “Thank you. Now here’s what happened: I’m minding my own business right? Just walking by and suddenly Ethan pins me to the wall because he’s mad at me or something.”

 

“Mhm.”

 

“So then, Roman comes and tells him to back off. And since Roman is not only the hero but also the school popular, he leaves me alone because who wants to start shit with Princey, right?”

 

“Language, Virgil. But yes, I see your point.”

 

“Then I noticed something. Ethan tried to pick on someone else too and Roman got him to back off again too but…it was different.”

 

“Different how?”

 

“I’m getting to that, dad.”

 

“Sorry, continue.”

  
“Anyway, it’s different because when Ethan tried to bully some other kid, Roman didn’t do this whole heroic stance and their whole demeanor was different and well, between you and me, I think there’s something more here. Maybe someone knows more than they’re letting on or something, I dunno.”

 

“Could you elaborate more?” Logan heard Virgil’s hesitation on the other end.

 

_ Perhaps this is a bad time- _

 

“Alright look,” Virgil started. Logan noticed his voice had lowered and he could hear…was it excitement in Virgil’s voice? “Now I could be wrong about this, my eyes might’ve played tricks on me, but I noticed Ethan was  _ blushing  _ when Roman tried to stop him.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“Yeah, exactly. Again, I could be wrong. Maybe he  _ wasn’t _ blushing.  _ Or  _ maybe he was and he probably has blushes every time Roman intervenes and I hadn’t caught it until now or something, I dunno.”

 

“I see. So, what are you suggesting based on this information?”

 

“Well, I could, I dunno, maybe, probably, be incorporated into your next scheme or something? I have a hunch about this but I can’t really be sure about it until I execute some sort of plan that involves it if that makes sense?”

 

“As in, you formed a hypothesis and need to perform an experiment in order to prove or disprove it?”

 

“Yeah, that. Thanks for putting it into better words.”

 

Logan adjusted his glasses and glanced back to the calendar. He wasn’t particularly busy,  _ obviously _ , but since he didn’t know what the plan detailed, he couldn’t just pick a day and hope everything went well on it. He would have to plan this accordingly, otherwise, he’d have another fire on his hands again.

 

“I sense the feeling that you’ve got an outline of an idea in your head. Am I right?”

 

“...Maybe.”

 

“Alright then. We’ll discuss this more when you get home, okay?”

 

“Yeah, that’s cool. Thanks, dad.”

 

“You’re welcome, Virgil.”

 

Logan hung up the phone and searched for his red pen. When he found it, he grabbed a sticky note, scribbled something on it and posted it onto the calendar.

 

_ Our first scheme together…How exciting! _


	4. Chapter 4

Roman stared at the annoyingly large stack of homework on his bedroom floor.

 

_ I may be a hero but I’m still only a C student, _ he reminded himself.

 

He pushed the homework aside with his foot and sighed.

 

_ How am I ever going to get my grades up with all that homework still left to do? _

 

The answer came in the form of a text.

 

Roman jumped onto his bed and picked up his phone. It was Remy, a good friend of his.

 

**Remy:** Hey Princey! How’s it going? ;)

 

**Roman:** I’m dying and I’m not sure I’ll be able to manage much longer

 

Almost immediately, Roman got a response back.

 

**Remy:** Woah what? R u serious? If i need to call an ambulance, i will

 

**Roman:** No, i’m joking

 

**Roman:** Although seriously i feel like i’m dying

 

**Roman:** I literally have too much homework

 

Roman set his phone down and glanced back to the pile, frowning.

 

**Remy:** Maybe u should just ask ur teachers to lower ur homework

 

**Roman:** you mean lessen????

 

**Remy:** same shit

 

Roman laughed.

 

**Remy:** there’s a reason i dropped out y’know

 

Roman laughed some more.

 

**Roman:** Yeah i guess

 

**Roman:** what should i do tho?

 

**Remy:** why don’t u get a tutor or something?

 

**Remy:** Ooooooh, how bout getting Virgil to be ur tutor? ;)

 

Roman felt his face heat up. He buried his face into a pillow and let out a scream. He then lifted his head and waited as Remy finished typing.

 

**Remy:** he’s smart, isn’t he?

 

**Remy:** i’m sure he could teach u a couple of things ;))

 

**Roman:** STOP

 

**Roman:** STOP IT RIGHT NOW

 

**Roman:** I KNOW EXACTLY WHERE YOURE GOING WITH THIS AND I DONT LIKE IT

 

Roman was sure Remy was laughing his ass off on his end and the thought just made him blush more.

 

**Remy:** i’m just saying

 

**Roman:** ok well i have to go and do homework

 

**Remy:** ur not gonna do it

 

**Roman:** maybe not but whatever

 

**Remy:** i can hook u guys up if u want ;)

 

**Roman:** REMY I AM VERY CLOSE TO GOING OVER TO YOUR PLACE JUST TO KICK YOU IN THE FACE

 

**Remy:** gee, it was just a suggestion Princey

 

**Remy:** besides, i’m not home

 

**Remy:** i’m at Starbucks

 

Roman rolled his eyes.

 

_ Where else would you be? _

 

**Roman:** alright i’m leaving

 

**Roman:** bye

 

**Remy:** alright see ya later Princey

 

Roman threw his phone onto the floor and buried his face into the pillow again. He wasn’t mad, per se, but it hadn’t been the first time he felt like this.

 

Remy had a point. Virgil  _ was _ pretty smart. As far as Roman knew, Virgil was getting straight A’s in all his classes which meant his GPA was probably higher than his, too. It wouldn’t seem too far-fetched for Roman to simply ask Virgil to tutor him. It would even give him an excuse to get closer to Virgil…

 

And yet, he couldn’t bring himself to ask Virgil to tutor him.

 

For all the villains Roman had faced, his biggest villain was his own fear. Roman thought it was utterly pathetic. How could he have the courage to risk his life and fight other villains meanwhile he couldn’t even muster the courage to say  _ hello _ to his crush? He still hadn’t found the answer to that question.

 

Roman rolled over and ran a hand over his face.

 

_ I’m never going to be able to tell him…am I? _


	5. Chapter 5

Patton gently dotted his brush onto the canvas. Classical music and the aroma of freshly baked bread filled the bakery.

 

Roman sat at one of the tables with an open chemistry textbook and a plate full of pastries. He took a sip from his cup of hot chocolate and frowned at the textbook.

 

“Hey, Patton?” Roman suddenly asked.

 

“Yes, Roman?” Patton asked, glancing back at Roman.

 

“Why is chemistry so hard?”

 

Patton laughed. “I didn’t understand it either, kiddo.” Roman smiled and set down his hot chocolate.

 

“How’s the painting coming along?”

 

“Why don’t you come take a look at it and tell me what you think?”

 

Roman stood up and practically skipped over to Patton. He gasped as he laid his eyes on the painting. It wasn’t finished but Roman could see that Patton was painting a hero vs villain portrait. The hero’s side was covered in splashes of reds and oranges. A pedestal was painted in the center in a bright gold color. The villain’s side was a messy sea of blues and purples. Nothing else had been painted in.

 

“The hero isn’t me, is it?” Roman asked. Patton chuckled.

 

“Who else would it be?” Roman grinned.

 

“Good point.” As Patton continued to paint, a question came to Roman. “Who’s the villain?” Patton shrugged.

 

“Any particular villain you’d like to see painted?” he asked. Roman thought for a moment.

 

“No, none in particular. Surprise me.” Patton grinned.

 

“I’ll try not to disappoint.”

 

“Aw, Padre, you never do.” Roman hugged Patton before returning back to his table. As he sat down, the bell chimed. Roman glanced over at the entrance and nearly had a heart attack.

 

“Just a moment!” Patton called as he set down his brush. He walked over to the counter and gasped. “Logan!”

 

Logan looked up from the doorway and smiled warmly.

 

“Patton! Good to see you! Hope you’re doing good.” Patton nodded.

 

“Doing very good, thank you.” Logan walked in and behind him followed Virgil. Patton gasped again. “And who is  _ this _ ?” Logan gently nudged Virgil, who smiled awkwardly. Roman practically swooned.

 

“Patton, I’d like you to meet my son.” Roman’s eyes widened.

 

**_He’s_ ** _ Virgil’s dad?! _

 

Virgil extended his hand out to Patton.

 

“Hi,” he looked up at Patton shyly. “I’m Virgil.” Patton took his hand and shook it.

 

“Well hiya, Virgil! Nice to meet you!”

 

Roman couldn’t believe his eyes or ears. He slid down into his seat and hoped both Virgil and Logan would continue to ignore him.

 

“Do you know Roman?”

 

_ Never mind then. _

 

Both Logan and Virgil turned around to face Roman. Roman immediately sat up and smiled. Roman noticed that Virgil’s smile faded and he shuffled closer to Logan.

 

“Yeah, I know him,” Virgil stated. “We go to the same school.”

 

“Really?” Patton asked. “I didn’t know that!” Patton turned to Roman. “Roman, why didn’t you tell me you knew him?”

 

“Well, I, uh, I didn’t know his dad was Logan…”

 

Logan chuckled. “It’s alright, hardly anyone knows,” he stated matter of factly.

 

“Well, now we do,” Patton said. “Actually, Virgil, I think you can help me out with something.” Virgil turned to Patton. “Roman here needs some help with his chemistry homework-”

 

“No, I don’t!” Roman shouted as his face turned pink.

 

“-and I was wondering if you could help me out.”

 

Roman’s face darkened as Virgil turned to look at him.

 

“I mean, I can help you if you want help…” he stated with a shrug.

 

“I, uh-”

 

“Aw, thank you, Virgil!” Patton exclaimed as he gently pushed Virgil towards Roman. “Would you like a pastry as well, Virgil? It’ll be on me!” Virgil laughed and shook his head.

 

“Thanks for the offer but I ate before I got here.” Virgil motioned to Logan. “Really, I just came for my dad.”

 

“Oh?” Patton turned to Logan. Now it was Logan’s turn to blush.

  
“Well, uh, I like my pastries,” Logan admitted.

 

_ That’s nowhere near true, _  Virgil thought as he grabbed a nearby chair and sat beside Roman. Roman could feel his heart racing.

 

Patton flashed a warm smile and Virgil was sure Logan’s heart had skipped a beat.

 

“Well then, I should get you a bag of your favorite pastries. Wait here.”

 

“Where else is he gonna go?” Virgil muttered under his breath. He then grinned at Logan, who merely shook his head. Virgil turned to Roman. “So, what did you need help on?”

 

Roman turned to his textbook and read aloud, “Uh, Polyatomic ions.” Virgil frowned.

 

“Ugh, I hate those.”

 

“Yeah, me too…”

 

Patton returned with a tray of pastries for Logan. He set it down on the counter and the two began to start a conversation. Meanwhile, Roman was still freaking out on the inside and trying his hardest not to let it show.

 

_ When I tell Remy about this he’s going to laugh his ass off... _


	6. Chapter 6

“Well, I’d say that was a success,” Virgil said as he walked through the door. Logan nodded.

 

“Yes, I suppose it was…” Logan walked into the kitchen and set his bag of pastries on the counter.

 

“Did you get his number?” Virgil asked as he hopped up and sat on the counter. Logan’s face flushed red and he didn’t reply. Virgil grinned and he grabbed a pastry from the bag. “You’re welcome.”

 

Logan mumbled a thank you and leaned his head against the fridge. Virgil chuckled and took a bite out of the pastry.

 

“Did you notice something about Roman?” Logan asked.

 

“Not really. Then again, I was too busy focusing on your interaction with your sweetheart and teaching Roman about polyatomic ions. What did you notice?”

 

Logan’s face flushed a crimson red and he dared not look back at Virgil.

 

“I noticed he was a little…jumpy.”

 

“Oh, that.” Virgil took another bite from the pastry. “I don’t think he’th uthed to admitting that he needth help.”

 

“Hm…perhaps.”

 

“What? You think it wath thomething elthe?”

 

“Virgil, please swallow your food before you continue speaking.” Virgil did as he was told.

 

“Sorry. But seriously, do you think it was something else?” Logan shrugged and faced Virgil, who was looking rather smug.

 

“I can’t be sure. I don’t know him very well and although you may know him better, you don’t interact with him often enough to know his quirks.”

 

“Yeah, that’s true.”

 

“And I already know that you wouldn’t be able to interact with him any more than you do now due to your anxiety…”

 

“That’s also true-”

 

“Virgil, you took your medication, yes?” Virgil nodded. “I’m sorry, I just-”

 

“It’s fine, dad. You  _ are _ my reminder, after all.” Logan smiled a bit. “So, what do you suggest we do now?” Logan turned to the calendar and noticed the sticky note he had placed on there earlier.

 

“Well, I’d suggest we talk about that plan of yours-”

 

“What does it say on the calendar?”

 

Logan glanced over at the obvious bold letters.

 

“Oh, don’t worry about that. It’s just my minor plan-”

 

“Does that say what I think it says?” Logan placed his hand over the date. “Dad, are you seriously going to-”

 

“I WILL NOT HAVE THAT EMPLOYEE JUST GO ABOUT THE REST OF THEIR DAY WITHOUT FEELING MY VENGEANCE, VIRGIL!” Virgil let out a long sigh.

 

“Will you at least make sure it’s subtle “accidents”? Please?” Logan nodded.

 

“Of course. Now, about that plan of yours…” Virgil grinned.

 

“Well, I had this idea…”

 

**~~~~~~~~~~**

 

“He did  _ what _ ? !” Remy asked.

 

“Yeah, he did that.” Roman rolled over on his side and let his phone lay on his ear.

 

“And how’d you react?”

 

“Oh, you know me. As calm and collected as possible.”

 

“Oh, so you freaked the fuck out.”

 

Roman dramatically gasped.

 

“I did  _ not _ .”

 

“Oh yeah, you  _ definitely  _ did if you did the whole gasp and everything.” Roman sighed.

 

“Alright fine, I did.” Remy laughed which prompted Roman to roll his eyes.

 

“Was he hot? As usual?” Roman blushed and ran a hand over his face.

 

“Remy, we’ve talked about this…”

 

“Oh sorry.” Remy cleared his throat. “Was he as conventionally attractive as he normally is when you see him at school?”

 

“Oh god, you made it worse.”

 

“Then just say ‘yes, he was hot!’ You’re making this a lot harder for yourself!” Roman frowned.

 

“ _ Fine _ . Yes, he was…attractive, as usual.”

 

“Oh gee, only a partial win, huh?” Roman didn’t reply. “Alright, sorry for pressing. I just thought I could get you to say it. Can you forgive me?”

 

“Get me a Starbucks drink and I’ll consider it.”

 

“Alright, on my way.”

 

Remy hung up and Roman took his phone off his ear. He then rolled over and stared up at his ceiling.

 

If you asked Roman why it was so difficult for him to admit Virgil was hot, he’d be too embarrassed to admit that he found Virgil more attractive than just “hot”. Really, any word could have described Virgil better, such as handsome, beautiful, gorgeous, jaw-dropping. “Hot” just wasn’t enough for Roman to use to describe him. But if he admitted that to Remy, well, the teasing would never stop.

 

Roman suddenly glanced over at his window and noticed the curtains billowing in the wind. He got up and leaned out. A breeze blew by and swept his air, messing it up. This time, though, Roman didn’t make any movements to fix it. Instead, he watched the city below him, examining all the cars he could see drive by and just barely making out a couple walking past on the street closest to him.

 

_ Maybe one day…a boy can dream, can’t he? _

 

As he continued to watch the city below him, he noticed a familiar looking car drive up to his house. He smiled softly and waved at Remy from his window. Remy got out of his car and waved back before slamming it and walking up to the house. Roman stepped away from his window, fixed his hair and ran downstairs to greet him.

 

The door swung open and Remy handed Roman his drink.

 

“Can you forgive me?” he asked softly. Roman smiled and took a sip.

 

“I’m still considering it.”

 

“Damn you, Princey.”

 

Roman laughed.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning!!! There is a slight mention of abuse in this chapter so if you get triggered by that then please avoid reading this chapter (unless if you want to then please proceed with caution).

“Where did you go?” Ethan muttered as he glanced around the room. There weren’t many places for a snake to go but dammit if Rosie didn’t try to escape for a good minute or two. “Rosie, where are you?” There was no answer. He looked under the ugly floral patterned couch, beneath the glass wardrobe containing fine china, and untangled the mess of wires and cords behind the tv. But, there was still no sign of Rosie.

 

Ever since his apartment building burned down, Ethan had to move out to his aunt’s place which, unfortunately for him, was located on the other side of town. He and Janet were slowly adjusting to the place but because he didn’t have his own room, tension arose between the two. For one, Janet hated Rosie and was disappointed when they discovered Rosie had not, in fact, been killed in the fire. Janet had also thrown a fit when Ethan insisted on taking Rosie with them and had made up several different excuses so that Ethan would leave her behind but in the end, Ethan won and took Rosie with them (although now Rosie kept escaping and Ethan was pretty sure that Rosie hated the place as much as he did).

 

Ethan heard the front door open and as soon as he heard the chatter between his aunt and Janet, he bolted to his room and sat on the bed.

 

“Ethan’s a dear, Janet,” he heard his aunt say. “He helped me weed the garden yesterday!” Ethan looked down at his bruised hands and frowned. “Oh, and Rosie! Rosie’s a dear as well, she helped me with my mouse problem, you know.” Ethan smiled.

 

_ At least someone else appreciates Rosie. _

 

“I can’t believe you actually like them,” Janet muttered. Ethan’s smile faded.

 

“What was that?”

 

“I said I can’t believe you actually like Rosie.”

 

“Oh Janet, how could you not? She’s utterly adorable and-”

 

“Adorable?!” Ethan heard Janet laugh. “You know, Sam, you truly are weird.” His aunt didn’t respond. “Oh gee, look who’s here.”

 

“Oh, hello Rosie!”

 

Ethan’s eyes widened and he nearly bolted out of the room but stopped when he realized that running in would only reveal that he had been listening. So, he sat back down and waited.

 

“Ethan!” Janet shouted. “Come get your damn snake.”

 

Ethan didn’t move.

 

“Janet, stop being harsh on him. Your apartment building  _ burned down _ , for god’s sake!” Janet didn’t reply. “Ethan, sweetie! Could you please come and get Rosie?”

 

Ethan got up and walked over into his aunt’s tiny kitchen where he found a very angry looking Janet staring at Rosie, who had slithered near his aunt. Ethan gently picked Rosie up and walked out of the kitchen. Rosie curled around him.

 

“Janet, we need to talk.”

 

“About?”

 

“How you’re treating Ethan.”

 

An eerie silence filled the room and Ethan held Rosie close to him.

 

_ This won’t end well… _

 

**~~~~~~~~~~**

 

Ethan watched from the passenger seat as Janet and his aunt fought. Rosie was tucked away in his jacket, safe.

 

_ At least one of us can be safe… _

 

Ethan glanced away as he saw Janet walk over to the car. He could hear her angry stomping stop as she reached the driver’s side. She yelled something at his aunt before she opened the car door and slammed it shut. As she started the car, his aunt walked over. Before she could fully reach the car, Janet stepped on the gas and drove off. Ethan gripped the bottom of his seat and tried to stay as calm as possible.

 

The car drive was quiet. Ethan knew what was coming and he didn’t like it.

 

“What did you tell her?” Janet suddenly asked.

 

“I didn’t tell her anything,” he said. Janet frowned.

 

“You sure about that?”

 

“Yes, I’m sure.”

 

Janet didn’t say anything for a while. Ethan could sense the anger radiating off of her and his heart sped up as Janet suddenly stepped on the gas.

 

_ Shit, shit, shit. _

 

“Tell me something, Ethan.” Janet sped faster and Ethan clung to his seat. “Why did she mention the bruises on your back?”

 

“The…the what?”

 

“Don’t play stupid with me, Ethan. Why did you show them to her?”

 

“I didn’t!”

 

“Liar.”

 

Janet sped faster and Ethan could feel his heart beating out of his chest.

 

“Why did you show them to her, Ethan? Do you  _ want  _ to be put in a foster home?!”

 

“No!”

 

Ethan glanced out the car and noticed that they were about to drive past a field of tall grass.

 

_ Maybe…If I could just… _   
  


“You showed them to her, I  _ know _ you did. How else would she know?” Janet laughed. Ethan gently unbuckled his seatbelt and prepared himself. “You know, for someone who lies so much, you’re terrible at it.”

 

Ethan opened the car door and threw himself out into the field. He heard the car’s tires squeal as Janet slammed on the brakes. Ethan glanced around and noticed the small hole that had been covered up by the grass. He crawled into it and did his best to hide.

 

“Ethan! Where the hell are you?!”

 

Ethan felt Rosie slither up to his neck and he gently stroked her as he tried to calm himself down.

 

“I’m so sorry, Rosie,” he whispered to her. Rosie gently coiled herself around his hand.

 

“I can do this all day, Ethan. Don’t think I won’t.”

 

_ You won’t. I know you won’t. You’ll just report me missing… _

 

Ethan held his breath and listened. He couldn’t hear Janet but he knew she was standing out there, waiting. He looked out and noticed a hill on the other side of the field which hid a house from anyone driving by.

 

_ Hey, wait a minute… _

 

Ethan gently guided Rosie back into his jacket and waited.

 

“Ethan, darling, come back. I can see a car coming this way and if I have to flag them down, I will.”

 

Ethan heard the sound of a car coming down the road and he felt his heart stop.

 

_ Shit. _

 

“Hey! Wait! Help!”

 

Ethan glanced out to see a car slow down to a stop. Janet walked over to the driver’s side and started talking to the driver.

 

_ FUCK. _

 

Ethan slowly crawled out of the hole and across the field. He heard the car door open and Ethan tried to crawl a little faster.

 

“I’m sorry about this, he’s just a little-”

 

“No, no, it’s fine. I get it.”

 

As Ethan crawled behind the hill, he gently patted Rosie’s head and listened.

 

“Ethan, sweetie!” Janet shouted. “This isn’t funny anymore! Could you  _ please  _ come out? I don’t want to waste this man’s - I’m sorry, I didn’t even get your name. What is it?”

 

“It’s Remy.”

 

“I don’t want to waste Remy’s time, Ethan! And I’m sure you don’t want to either so just please come out!”

 

Ethan slowly crawled toward the house.

 

_ I can run once the hill completely hides me. _

 

“Ethan! Remy’s going to call the police if you don’t come out. You don’t want that, do you?”

 

Ethan took this as his cue to run. He stood up and ran to the house.

 

“Ethan! Come back this instant!”


	8. Chapter 8

“So, do I get a thank you for that?” Patton asked as he held his phone to his ear with his shoulder. He heard Roman sigh.

 

“I, well- okay, yes, thank you…” Patton grinned. “I’m sorry, I’m just a little…overwhelmed still.”

 

“Oh, Roman, that’s alright! First loves are always like that!”

 

“Patton!”

 

Patton laughed. Judging from the tone of his voice, Patton was sure Roman was blushing.

 

“Patton, do you think he’ll really like me back?”

 

“Of course, Roman! I don’t see why he wouldn’t.”

 

There was silence on the other end. Patton set down the bowl of batter he had been working on and waited.

 

“Roman?”

 

“Sorry, I just witnessed a barista’s drink explode in their hands as they were mixing it and now there’s coffee everywhere.”

 

“Oh my gosh!”

 

“Yeah, it’s pretty messy. I feel kinda bad since now everyone’s staring and they’re probably extremely embarrassed.” Patton pouted and went back to his bowl.

 

“Oh, poor thing.”

 

“Yeah…but anyway…” Roman heaved another sigh. “I don’t feel like it’ll work out between us…”

 

“What?! Why not?”

 

“I don’t know…something tells me it won’t work…”

 

“Oh, that’s probably just your thoughts talking-”

 

“No, I feel it in my gut, padre.”

 

Patton felt a pang in his chest as he heard the words.

 

“Roman, listen, I know you always go with your gut, but-”

 

“But this time I should take a chance and go against it?” Roman interrupted. “Patton, I would never do that. That has  _ never  _ ended well for me. It’s a miracle Remy is still alive and talking to me…” Patton frowned as he remembered the incidents.

 

“I don’t know, I feel like this time will be different. My gut has a good feeling about this.”

 

“Patton, when have you ever listened to your gut? And when has it ever been right?”

 

Patton stopped stirring and stared at his batter.

 

“Wait, padre, I’m sorry-”

 

“No, I understand. You’re old enough to make your own decisions. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some baking to do.” Patton hung up the phone and set down it down. He then went into the back room of the bakery.

 

Had anyone been in the bakery, they would have probably heard the sounds of trays crashing to the floor and Patton’s frustrated scream as more trays crashed.

 

Luckily, no one had been in the bakery.


	9. Chapter 9

“I mean, it  _ was  _ pretty funny when you tripped the barista,” Virgil admitted with a small smile as he set down his bag of treats on the coffee table. He noticed Logan grin and puff his chest out proudly. “Still felt kind of bad, though…” Logan walked over to Virgil and gently patted him on the back.

 

“I didn’t do anything else bad, though. Right?” Virgil nodded and looked up at Logan.

 

“That’s a good thing, by the way. Proud of you, dad.” Logan grinned and Virgil was sure he’d never seen him grin this wide before. “Anyway, I have something to show you.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“Stay here.”

 

Virgil got up from the couch and walked out of the room. Logan sat down and waited excitedly. He then attempted to calm himself. His pride was showing too much, even he knew.

 

Virgil returned with a large rolled up piece of paper and stood in front of Logan. Logan watched with curious eyes as he watched Virgil unravel the paper. He then gasped as he took in all the planning Virgil had put into his plan.

 

“You really thought this out…" he stated, impressed. He looked up at Virgil. "This must be very important to you, then.” Virgil shrugged.

 

“I needed to eliminate as many variables as possible like you told me to do. This is just about as thorough as I could be with this plan.” Logan nodded and clapped for Virgil. “Thanks, dad. Glad you’re happy about it.”

 

“I’m more than just happy Virgil." Logan suddenly stood up and hugged Virgil, causing an embarrassed gasp to escape Virgil. "I’m proud!”

 

Virgil felt his cheeks heat up and he awkwardly returned the hug. Logan then let go of him and Virgil awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.

 

"My apologies, Virgil. I just-"

 

"No, I get it. It's fine."

 

Virgil  _knew_ that his face was sporting a cherry red so he avoided eye contact with Logan. And although he wouldn't utter it out loud, Virgil had liked the hug and it had meant a lot to him.

 

“I just have one question," Logan continued.

 

“Yeah?” Virgil asked, glancing up.

 

“When are we starting this plan?”

 

“As soon as we can.”

 

“So, right now, then?”

 

Virgil grinned and nodded. Logan clapped his hands together.

 

“Well then, what are we waiting for?”

 

Before Virgil could respond, there came a rapid knocking at the front door. Logan and Virgil froze.

 

"Dad..." Virgil whispered.

 

"Yes, Virgil?" Logan whispered back.

 

"...Do you have an appointment for something today that you forgot about?"

 

"No, I most certainly  _do not._ We went over the calendar earlier, remember?"

 

"SO THEN WHO'S AT THE DOOR DAD?!"

"Well, we're going to find out now, aren't we?"

 

Logan motioned for Virgil to hide behind the couch. Virgil immediately rolled up his paper and curled into a ball behind the couch. As the rapid knocking continued, Logan slowly approached the door. He grasped the doorknob and realized that he was shaking.

 

_ Calm yourself…you have the advantage here… _

 

Virgil heard the door open and Logan gasp.

 

“Hell-”

 

“Mister, you have to help me!”

 

Virgil’s eyes widened and he felt his heart nearly stop.

 

_ No. _

 

“I’m…I’m sorry, who-”

 

“Please, I don’t have time to explain just  _ please _ let me stay here for a while!”

 

Virgil threw his paper under the couch and immediately ran to the door. He could hear the confusion in Logan’s voice and he knew that if he didn’t interject the conversation right now, the loud yelling would draw attention to them. And when you’re dad’s a villain, well…attention’s the last thing you want.

 

As Virgil practically stumbled into the hallway leading to the front door, he got a good look at who was at the door. He felt his stomach turn as he recognized him and stopped a few feet away from Logan, who had turned around in surprise.

 

“Ethan?!”


	10. Chapter 10

Roman glanced up at the clock on the wall.

 

**10:45 PM**

 

_ Ugh, I really need to get to bed. I’m missing out on my beauty sleep! _

 

He glanced back to the woman standing in front of him and the police officer standing beside him.

 

“So, at around 11:30 was when he disappeared?”

 

The woman rolled her eyes and nodded.

 

“I’ve told this story ten times now, how many more must I tell?”

 

“We’re sorry about this, ma’am,” Roman said. “He’s just trying to do his job-”

 

“Well if he could do it  _ faster _ , that would be great.”

 

Roman frowned but didn’t say anything.

 

To say he didn’t like this woman would be a severe understatement. Roman had been called in for this case (he’s usually called in due to how well he worked with the previous cases). The second Roman had walked into the police station, he noticed the foul odor of alcohol that the woman emitted. So, naturally, he considered the option that she was possibly lying and just some drunk who managed to convince the officers. Of course, it was proven otherwise.

 

Roman glanced over to see Remy sitting on the bench against the wall. He could tell Remy was just as annoyed and tired as he was. Remy looked up and smiled a bit. Roman waved and Remy sleepily waved back.

 

“Can I leave now?” Roman heard the woman ask. He tried to hide his frown as he turned back to face her. The police officer nodded and she walked off muttering something under her breath. As soon as she walked out, Remy stood up and walked over to Roman and the police officer.

 

“Can I just say that I don’t believe her for a second?” Remy asked. The police officer shrugged.

 

“You can say it, but there’s not much we can do about it until we can figure out where her son is.” The officer set down his notepad and sighed. “We’ll have to contact the local news station so that we can issue out a missing person statement to the town.” Roman frowned.

 

“How do we know she’s not lying though?” Remy asked again. “Like, I  _ know _ I just said that I was there with her but I didn’t actually  _ see _ a kid, y’know? What if we’re reporting something that isn’t true?”

 

“That’s the thing,” the officer started. “We  _ do _ know she’s not lying. We’ve had her around this station before…” Roman and Remy gasped.

 

“You  _ have _ ?!” they asked in unison. The officer nodded.

 

“We’ve never seen the kid’s face but we have seen him before so we know what we’re looking for.”

 

“What do you mean you’ve never seen his face?” Roman asked.

 

“He keeps it covered. She’s told us a couple of times that he covers it because he’s embarrassed about it or something.”

 

“Embarrassed about his face?”

 

“Yeah. He has this big ‘ol scar on it, apparently.”

 

Roman’s eyes widened and he glanced over at Remy who just looked confused.

 

The officer glanced up at the clock.

 

“You two should be getting home.” He turned back to Roman. “Do you need a lift?” Roman shook his head and motioned to Remy. “Oh alright. Drive safe you two.” Remy and Roman nodded and said their goodbyes before leaving.

 

As they walked out into the cold night, Roman pulled his thin jacket closer to him. A breeze blew past the two and they both shivered.

 

“Damn, I really should’ve brought a better jacket,” Remy muttered.

 

“Me too,” Roman agreed.

 

The two made it to his car and sat inside.

 

“Oh thank god it’s a little warmer in here,” Remy said.

 

“A little warmer?!” Remy turned to see Roman shivering in his seat. “It’s so cold! Remy! Turn the heater on!”

 

“Alright, alright! Just give me a minute, princess.”

 

Remy started the car and blasted the AC in Roman’s face. Roman shrieked and slid down in his seat. Remy chuckled and changed to the heater. Roman slowly sat back up.

 

“I hate you.”

 

“Love you too!”

 

As Remy started driving, Roman glanced out the window and watched as the world went by. He sighed and placed his forehead on the window. He immediately regretted the decision as he felt the cold bite his skin and he pulled his head away.

 

“So, what did you realize at the police station?” Remy asked.

 

“I know who her son is,” Roman mumbled as he glanced back out the window.

 

“You do?” Roman nodded.

 

“He’s the asshole that bullies Virgil…”

 

“Woah, plot twist!” Roman didn’t say anything. “Damn, okay, this is serious, sorry.”

 

“Of course it’s serious, Remy. I knew there was something off-putting about that woman and now I can see why…”

 

“So, do you really think he ran away then? Or is she bluffing?” Roman shrugged.

 

“I don’t know. A part of me thinks he really  _ did  _ run away…Although, if he didn’t and she’s just lying…well, that would explain a lot about Ethan…”

 

“Do I know Ethan?”

 

Roman thought for a moment. “No, I don’t think so. You dropped out before you could ever meet him, I think.” Remy made a faint hum before slowing down the car. Roman looked out to see the familiar field near his house. “Is this the place where he disappeared?”

 

“Supposedly, yeah.”

 

Roman got out of the car and walked over to the edge of the field. The wind had seemed to pick up in this area but Roman hadn’t noticed. He looked out over the field and wondered where Ethan could have possibly hidden.

 

“She said he jumped out of the car and hid in the field,” Roman mumbled.

 

“Yeah, that’s right,” Remy said as he stood beside Roman.

 

“Remy, did you actually  _ look _ in the field before calling the police?”

 

Remy didn’t answer for a moment. Roman turned to him and noticed that Remy looked distraught.

 

“No, I didn’t.”

 

“Why?”

 

Remy turned to Roman, frowning. “Roman, you  _ saw _ the way she looked, didn’t you? I didn’t trust her!” Now it was Roman’s turn to frown.

 

“Remy, you  _ said _ -”

 

“I KNOW WHAT I SAID ROMAN.” Roman stared at Remy. Remy ran a hand through his hair and let out a sigh. “I know what I said, Roman.”

 

“And you know lying to the police is a federal offense, right?”

 

“No, it’s not. You’re just trying to scare me now. I know lying to the police is just a felony.”

 

“OH WHAT LIKE THAT’S ANY BETTER?!”

 

“I DON’T KNOW ROMAN!”

 

Remy buried his face in his hands. Roman looked back out to the field.

 

“Remy, you know the police are going to have to check the field anyway, right?!”

 

“They are?!”

 

“What do you mean ‘they are?!’ OF COURSE THEY WILL REMY! DID YOU THINK THEY’D JUST TAKE YOUR WORD FOR IT?!”

 

Remy stared out into the field and Roman could see the tears streaming down his face.

 

“What happens when they find him?” he asked.

 

“What do you think? They’ll just return him back to her!”

 

“Yeah, but what if…can’t they question him?!”

 

Roman didn’t say anything. Truth be told, he wasn’t sure if they could. Although, the possibility  _ was  _ likely. But even so, if they interrogated him, would it even be useful?

 

“Let’s just go home,” Roman said as he walked back to the car. Remy took one last look into the field and walked back to the car. As he slammed his door shut, he felt Roman place a hand on his shoulder. Remy looked up at him. “Listen to me. What I know for sure is that the police are going to do everything they can to get Ethan back. Whether they’re going to give him back to her is beyond me.” Remy nodded. “I’m telling you right now, they’re going to search the field just to make sure you didn’t miss anything because that’s what they do with every case like this. They’re going to possibly interrogate anyone who lives nearby, too, just in case they’ve seen him.”

 

“And if they haven’t? And they don’t find him?”

 

“Then they continue searching around town and possibly in nearby towns as well.” Remy’s eyes widened.

 

“Do you really think he could’ve gone that far?!” Roman shook his head.

 

“I doubt it but it wouldn’t hurt them to look, anyway.”

 

Remy didn’t say anything. Instead, he started the car again and drove back to Roman’s house.

 

“Are you gonna tell them?” Remy asked. Roman shrugged.

 

“No promises, Remy. I won’t tell unless I have to.”


	11. Chapter 11

Patton watched as his phone rang for the fifth time. Was he going to answer it? No, of course not. How had he not gotten the hint yet?

 

As his phone stopped ringing, Patton picked it up and stared at the five missed calls from Roman. Maybe he was being selfish or maybe he was trying to prevent the situation from getting worse. Who knows? He certainly didn’t.

 

_ Please don’t ring again, _ he thought.

 

Much to his dismay, it rang again. Although this time, it wasn’t Roman.

 

Patton immediately picked up the phone. “Hello?” he asked.

 

“Hello, Patton!”

 

“Sam?” Patton asked. “Is that you?”

 

Sam laughed. “Yeah, it’s me!”

 

Patton gasped and he heard Sam laugh again. “Oh my god,  _ hello _ ! I haven’t heard from you in such a long time! How are you?”

 

“Oh, I’ve been alright,” Sam said. Patton frowned.

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah. Had a few troubles here and there but overall, everything’s okay.”

 

“Well, that’s good! That’s good to hear, Sam!”

 

“Yeah. But, anyway, I needed to ask you for a favor…”

 

“Oh?”

 

“Yeah. I hate asking for favors but this time I really need the help.”

 

“Oh, sure! What is it?”

 

**~~~~~~~~~~**

 

Virgil couldn’t describe how he felt at the moment. Angry? Bitter? Confused? Scared?  _ Awkward. _ Yes, awkward seemed more fitting.

 

Currently, he was sitting across a very nervous Ethan. He wasn’t looking up at Virgil but Virgil knew that Ethan could sense Virgil watching him by his constant shifting and sleeve tugging. It almost looked like he had a very uncomfortable itch but didn’t want to scratch it.

 

Logan walked back into the room holding a mug of tea. He gently handed the mug to Ethan, who quietly thanked him before taking a sip from it. Virgil glanced up at Logan who motioned for Virgil to stop glaring. Virgil did as he was told (or motioned, in this case).

 

“This is a very curious situation we’ve gotten ourselves into,” Logan started. Both Virgil and Ethan nodded. “May I ask, just for clarification, about the situation that prompted you to bring you here?”

 

“I, uh…” Ethan took another sip from his mug as he thought up a response. “I was being kidnapped…” Logan and Virgil exchanged glances. “My kidnapper just so happened to be driving by the field that was nearby your house…”

 

“So, you escaped?” Logan asked. Ethan nodded. “Anything else we should know?” Ethan took another sip from his mug.

 

“I’m very sorry.”

 

“For?”

 

Ethan looked deep into his cup before slowly mumbling, “Bullying Virgil.”

 

“Yes, that’s what I thought.” Virgil glanced up at Logan who winked at him. “Anything else? Or is that all of the truth?”

 

“...that’s all of the truth.”

 

Logan sat down in the recliner closest to Virgil and watched Ethan take another long sip from his mug.

 

“Do your parents know you’ve been kidnapped?” Logan asked.

 

“I don’t have parents…”

 

“Oh. Then does your legal guardian know you’ve been kidnapped?” Ethan slowly shook his head and held the mug close to his chest. “Would you like to call them and let them know?” Ethan shook his head again.

 

“I don’t want to put them in danger…”

 

Logan frowned as he adjusted his glasses. He studied Ethan and noticed that he was nothing more than a frail boy with an unfortunate scar and a possibly bad home life. Of course, there was more to the story than Ethan was letting on but Logan was determined to find out as much as he could about him.

 

“Virgil, I’ll be back shortly,” Logan said as he stood up. “There is something I must attend to before anything else happens tonight.” Virgil nodded and Logan walked out of the room.

 

“He  _ just  _ sat down…” Virgil heard Ethan mumble.

 

“Yeah, he does that.” Ethan jumped slightly and stared at Virgil with wide eyes. Virgil didn’t look at him. Instead, he focused his stare on his bag of treats on the coffee table. “What? Didn’t think I could hear you? I’m sitting right next to you.” Ethan looked away and Virgil was sure he was probably scolding himself. Virgil then noticed Ethan’s sleeve shift. Although, the movement had been so subtle he wasn’t sure he had  _ actually  _ seen it move.

 

Ethan took another sip from his tea and glanced around the living room.   
  


“You…you have a big house…” he said. Virgil shrugged.

 

“I mean, it’s enough for the two of us. Sometimes I need my space and sometimes he needs his and, well, I guess why the house is so big.”

 

Virgil glanced over at Ethan and noticed him staring up at what Virgil liked to call the “Picture Wall”. The wall was really just one small section of the living room that Logan hung up pictures he thought were presentable but memorable. So, of course, that meant that the pictures showed Virgil and him throughout the years in front of various monuments, museums, amusement parks, nature, etc. There were no baby pictures, much to Virgil’s relief.

 

“What is it?” he asked, although the question came out as more of a growl. Ethan clutched his mug.

 

“N-nothing!” he stammered. “I’m ju-ust looking!” Ethan took another sip from the mug. Virgil sighed and ran a hand over his face.

 

“Dude, can you just stop pretending to be polite?” he asked. “It’s getting on my nerves. You’re not like this, or at least in school you’re not like this. What gives?” Although Virgil knew  _ exactly _ what “gives”, he wanted to hear it from Ethan.

 

“Look, just accept it while you have it, okay?!” Ethan hissed. He then took another sip to calm himself. “I’m sorry, I just…I don’t know what to do…”

 

“I can see that…” Ethan frowned and stared into his mug. He ran his finger along the handle of the mug before looking up at Virgil.

 

“Your dad thinks he’s funny, doesn’t he?” Ethan showed the inside of the mug to Virgil. Virgil’s poker face slipped as he saw the words “I poisoned your tea” on the very bottom of the mug. Virgil dissolved into a fit of giggled which eventually turned into full blown laughter. Ethan set his mug down and crossed his arms.

 

“I’m sorry,” Logan said as he walked back into the room. “He just needed a good laugh at your expense.” Ethan didn’t say anything. Virgil covered his mouth as he started coughing and he held his stomach. Ethan’s frown deepened as he looked up at Logan, whose arms were crossed. His frown disappeared. “Alright, now listen.” Virgil stifled another laugh and looked up at his dad. “It is far too late to take you home  _ if  _ that had been an option.” Virgil frowned.

 

_ Damn, that means he has to stay here… _

 

“Now, I  _ know _ none of us are comfortable with the idea of you staying here…” Virgil and Ethan nodded. “...but it seems as though we have no other choice but to do that.” Ethan glanced over at Virgil.

 

“What?” Ethan shrugged.

 

“I expected you to groan or something…”

 

“I may not like you but that doesn’t mean I’m an outright dick, Ethan.”

 

“Virgil! Language!”

 

“Sorry, dad.”

 

Ethan looked back up at Logan, who seemed to be staring at him.

 

“Follow me to your room, please. You and I have much to discuss.” Ethan nodded and stood up before following Logan to the guest bedroom. Logan shut the door behind which left Virgil alone in the living room.

 

Virgil reached under the couch for his blueprints and rolled them open. He then walked into the kitchen and grabbed one of Logan’s red pens.

 

“Let’s make a few adjustments to this plan,” he said aloud. “Now that he’s here, this makes it a whole lot easier…”

 

**~~~~~~~~~~**

 

After Logan and Virgil had bid their goodnights to one another, Logan was left alone on the couch. He glanced down at his watch.

 

**11:12 PM**

 

_ I should be getting to bed… _

 

Logan reached for the tv remote and turned it on. Luckily for him, the news was on and interestingly enough, there was a missing person’s message being displayed on the screen. As a picture of Ethan popped up on screen, Logan’s lip curled into a smile.

 

_ I knew it… _

 

As Logan shut the tv off, he was thrown into darkness. Although, it wasn’t  _ completely  _ dark. One of the lights in the kitchen had been left on and if anyone had been watching Logan at that moment, they would have been terrified. The light, although small, cast across Logan’s face. His eye glinted and he grinned.

 

“I know just what to do with him…They’ll be looking for him… _ Roman _ will be looking for him…” Logan chuckled as his plan formed in his head.

 

Suddenly, the living room light turned on. Logan stopped and turned to see Virgil in his pajamas, squinting at him.

 

“Dad…”

 

“...Yes, Virgil?”

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

“Please, go to bed…”

 

“Alright, Virgil.”

 

**~~~~~~~~~~**

 

Patton set his phone down. He could feel his heart pounding out of his chest and he noticed how hard he was shaking. Needless to say, he wasn’t handling the news well.

 

_ How could she…? _

 

Patton shook his head.

 

_ No, I can’t think about this right now… _

 

Patton glanced at his phone.

 

_ Would he even answer if I called him? _

 

The answer to that question didn’t matter. Patton picked up his phone and searched through his calls.

 

He had to tell someone.

 

He had to tell Roman.


	12. Chapter 12

Roman yawned as he walked through the gates of the school. He hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before and he was a little worried he wouldn’t be able to stay awake in his classes. Although, as tired as he was, Roman noticed the students were a little more talkative than usual.

 

_ Everyone’s probably wondering if he actually went missing. _

 

Roman still wasn’t sure if the woman had been lying about Ethan going missing. Although, he’d get more answers from the police later once they search the field (hopefully).

 

_ I mean...there’s gotta be a reason he jumped out of the car, right? Why didn’t they ask her that? _

 

Roman decided it was best to not delve into the problem at that moment. He had various other things to worry about, such as his upcoming chemistry test. He had tried to study for it but for some reason, he still wasn’t able to fully grasp the concepts.

 

_ Maybe I could get Virgil to tutor me again… _

 

Roman immediately shook his head and gently hit it on his locker. He remembered how Virgil had reacted to him when Patton had mentioned him at the bakery. He had looked disappointed and he had acted so apathetically about the whole situation.

 

_ Patton really thinks he might like me back… _

 

The thought of Patton made his heart hurt. Although he had tried to call Patton to apologize, the damage had already been done. Roman decided it would be best to just apologize in person, however awkward that may turn out to be.

 

Roman lifted his head from his locker and unlocked it before taking some of the books out. He suddenly became very aware of his surroundings. He took a quick glance around and noticed Virgil wasn’t there.

 

_ Hm, I guess he stayed home today. _

 

That wasn’t unusual. Virgil took mental health days every once in a while just because he could and Roman figured that wasn’t such a bad idea.

 

_ I might start doing that, actually. _

 

The thought made him smile a bit but that smile disappeared once he heard the bell ring.

 

_ Time to start the day. _

 

**~~~~~~~~~~**

 

The second the lunch bell rang, every student bolted out of the classroom, nearly trampling each other in the process. Roman zipped his bag and waited for the stampede to leave before he made his way out the door.

 

He was instantly enveloped in a sea of laughing and screaming kids. Sure, most kids were talkative during lunch but Roman had never seen the halls so  _ lively _ . He had a hunch as to why everyone was so energetic but he figured he’d tell Remy about it later.

 

As Roman passed a group of kids standing in the hall, he managed to see two of the girls share a kiss as the rest of the kids talked. He couldn’t stop the smile that had formed on his face but it wasn’t like he had wanted to. Roman was a sucker for love, everyone knew.

 

_ And yet, I can’t even have it for myself… _

 

Roman’s smile disappeared and he felt the loneliness creep back in. He trudged through the halls and to his lunch table where his friends sat chatting away. He took a seat beside them and did his best to engage in the conversation. When that didn’t work, he settled on just listening in. Unfortunately, that wouldn’t last very long. The conversation was too boring and with Roman not participating in it, his thoughts wandered.

 

_ Patton was so optimistic about it…why can’t I be? _

 

He watched as his everyone around him laughed and smiled.

 

_ Why do I do this to myself? Everyone believes in me. Why can’t I? _

 

The answer never came. Not that Roman had expected it to.

 

Suddenly, his phone buzzed. He fished around for it in his pocket before taking it out and squinting at the screen.

 

**Padre**

 

_ Patton’s calling me?! _

 

Roman excused himself from the table and answered the call.

 

“Patton?” he asked.

 

“Roman!” Patton shouted. Roman felt his heart swell.

 

“Padre, you doing okay? I’m sorry for-”

 

“Roman, I  _ know _ you’re sorry but there’s no time for that right now!”

 

“Oh?” Roman picked up on the slight panic in Patton’s voice.

 

“Listen, remember Sam?”

 

How could he forget? Sam was just the nicest and sweetest person Roman had ever met (besides Patton, of course).

 

“Of course I remember Sam. Why?”

 

“They called me yesterday and it was really late and they told me a few things that worried me and I wasn’t sure who to tell other than you.” Roman didn’t say anything.

 

Sam hadn’t called in  _ years _ ! Both Roman and Patton had worried that something had happened to them but they eventually found out that their situation was too dangerous to risk a call. Roman had wanted to help Sam but Sam had insisted that he avoid getting involved. Now, though, it seemed that getting involved was inevitable.

 

“Roman?”

 

“Right here. Sorry, I got lost in thought.” Roman looked around. No one was paying attention to him. “What’d they tell you?”   
  


“Well, um, I can’t really explain over the phone. I’m going to have to tell you everything in person.”

 

“In person?”

 

“It’s too much to explain over the phone. Do you think you could swing by the bakery after school?”

 

“I mean, I was gonna go anyway…to apologize…”

 

“Oh! Well then  _ please _ try and make it here as fast as you can.”

 

“Alright, Pat. Will do.”


	13. Chapter 13

For the first time in a long time, Ethan could safely say he had gotten a full night’s rest.

 

It wasn’t a surprise to Ethan that he’d feel safer with his own worst enemy than with Janet. Virgil didn’t know that, though, and he intended to keep it that way for as long as he could.

 

Ethan sat up in bed, gently stroking Rosie’s head. He stared out the large window across the room. He had been amazed when he had drawn the curtains and seen the view of the city. Now all he wanted to do was stare at it all day.

 

The sound of a door opening caught Ethan’s attention. Rosie curled around his hand and he held her close to his chest. Ethan listened as the footsteps approached his door. They slowed and came to a complete stop in front of the door. He felt his heart speed up and Rosie slithered into his jacket. He sat there for a while, hardly breathing. Although he didn’t know who was at the door, he knew what they were doing.

 

_ They’re listening for me… _

 

After a minute or two, the footsteps walked away from his door and faded down the hall. Ethan let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding in and picked Rosie up. As he held her close, he did his best to calm himself down. Rosie slithered up and curled around Ethan’s neck.

 

“Thanks, Rosie,” he mumbled. Rosie, of course, didn’t do anything.

 

Ethan heard another set of footsteps approach his door. He froze and Rosie slithered back into his jacket. The door opened and Ethan glanced up to see Virgil standing in the doorway, wearing his oversized hoodie and a pair of purple plaid sweatpants.

 

“Oh, you’re up,” he said. “Morning, I guess.”

 

“...Morning.”   
  


Virgil motioned to the hall. “Wanna join us for breakfast?”

 

Ethan stared at Virgil.

 

_ Breakfast? With Virgil? And his dad? Am I still dreaming? _

 

“I’m going to take that as a-”

 

“Yes.” Virgil slowly nodded and opened the door a little wider.

 

“Hope you like oatmeal.”

 

And with that, Virgil walked off. Ethan didn’t move from the bed immediately. He was sure he had seen a smirk on Virgil’s face. But, because he had already said yes, Ethan figured he’d might as well join them. He walked out of the room and gently stroked Rosie as he entered the living room. He saw Virgil sitting on the couch eating a plate of pancakes.

 

“Pancakes?” Ethan asked. Virgil nodded. “I thought you said-”

 

“Yeah, I thought he was making that. They’re chocolate chip, by the way.”

 

Ethan made his way over to the kitchen and saw Logan over the stove stacking some pancakes on a plate. He turned around and smiled.

 

“Good morning, Ethan,” he chirped, holding out the plate to Ethan. “Pancakes?” Ethan blinked.

 

_ I’m still dreaming. _

 

Nevertheless, Ethan carefully took the plate from Logan.

 

“Thank you…” Logan nodded and turned back to the stove. Ethan slowly backed out of the kitchen and walked over to the couch. He sat on the other end of the couch and did his best to keep Rosie in his pocket.

 

Virgil reached for the remote and turned the tv on. The news channel came on. Virgil frowned and flipped through the channels. Once he found something he wanted to watch, he set the remote back down and continued eating his pancakes.   
  


Ethan slowly cut his pancakes and reached for the syrup. As he grabbed the bottle of syrup, Virgil grabbed it too. Ethan looked up at Virgil who just stared back. Ethan let go of the syrup and stuffed his hand on his sweater. Virgil stared at him for a bit before pouring some more syrup on his pancakes and setting the syrup back on the coffee table. Ethan immediately snatched the syrup and poured it as quickly as possible on his pancakes before setting it down.

 

_ Calm down, calm down. You’re acting weird. _

 

Logan walked into the living room with a plate of pancakes in his hands. He sat down in his recliner and poured some syrup on his pancakes before he spoke.

 

“So, I’m assuming you got a good night’s rest?” he asked Ethan. Ethan nodded and stuffed his face with pancakes. Logan glanced at Virgil, who merely nodded as he ate a few mouthfuls of his pancakes. “That’s good to hear. Now, I have a question to ask you.” Ethan motioned for Logan to continue as he ate some more of his pancakes. “I have work to do…and I’m assuming you can’t go to school since your kidnapper might be looking for you-” Ethan stopped chewing. “-so, that means you’ll have to stay here with Virgil until I come back from work.”

 

_ Shit… _

 

Both Logan and Virgil took bites from their pancakes in order to hide their smirks. Ethan didn’t notice. Instead, he gently poked at his pancakes and continued to stroke Rosie.

 

“Unless if you’d want us to take you back,” Virgil offered.

 

“But don’t you remember what he told us?” Logan asked. “He said he didn’t want to put his guardian in danger. That’s why we’re not taking him back.” Virgil and Logan turned to Ethan.

 

“Yeah, he’s right,” Ethan said, staring down at his pancakes. “I’ll make sure to keep to myself.” Logan and Virgil exchanged glances.

 

“Alright, it’s settled then!” Logan took a bite from his pancakes before continuing. “Please do not start anything, Virgil.”

 

“Yeah, like  _ I’d _ do anything,” Virgil scoffed. Ethan frowned as he finished off his pancakes.

 

“Now, now, I don’t want there to be any more tension in the house than there already is.” Virgil nodded. “Can I trust that the two of you will behave?” Ethan glanced over at Virgil before nodding. “Good.” Logan turned to the tv. “Cartoons?” Virgil nodded.

 

“Is there a problem?”

 

Logan shook his head. Virgil leaned back into the couch and continued eating. Ethan set his plate down on the coffee table and stuffed both of his hands into his jacket. While Logan and Virgil watched the tv intently, Ethan’s eyes drifted back to the photos. He noticed how happy both Virgil and Logan looked in the photos.

 

_ He has a nice smile… _

 

Ethan tore his eyes away from the photos.

 

_ Gee, I really am an asshole…as if I hadn’t already known that… _

 

Ethan noticed Rosie lifting her head out of his jacket. He immediately closed his jacket and zipped it up. He made a mental note to apologize to Rosie later.

 

“Something wrong?” Ethan heard Logan ask him. Ethan shook his head. Although Logan wasn’t convinced, he didn’t press him.

 

Virgil stood up and took his and Ethan’s plates into the kitchen. Ethan turned and watched as Virgil washed the dishes.

 

“Thank you, Virgil,” Logan said. Ethan glanced back to see Logan staring at him.

 

“Y-Yeah, thanks, Virgil.”

 

“No problem.”

 

Ethan turned back around. He felt Rosie slither around in his jacket and he did his best to conceal her but that was very difficult when Logan was still watching him.

 

_ Please don’t notice. Please don’t notice.  _ **_Please_ ** _ don’t notice. _

 

Logan stood up with his plate and walked over to the kitchen. Ethan let out a sigh of relief and unzipped his jacket before gently pushing Rosie back into his pocket.

 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. He then zipped his jacket back up and glanced into the kitchen to see Logan and Virgil talking. Virgil did a motion towards Ethan and Logan shrugged. Ethan turned away, frowning.

 

_ When the hell did my life get so weird? _

 

Ethan already knew the answer to that question.

 

_ The fucking fire…if that fucking fire hadn’t started…maybe I’d still be suffering… _

 

Ethan carefully hugged himself. He heard Virgil and Logan walk back into the living room. Virgil sat back down on the couch while Logan walked off to his room. Ethan figured he was getting ready for work and although he wasn’t wrong, he had no clue of the intentions set for him.

 

A little while later, Logan walked out adjusting his tie and glasses. Virgil flipped through the channels and the two bid goodbye before Logan walked out. Virgil lowered the tv’s volume and the two listened as Logan started his car.

 

“Your…your dad has a car?” Ethan asked. Virgil looked over at him.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Then why do you  _ walk _ to school?”

 

Virgil didn’t reply immediately. Ethan turned to Virgil and saw him looking over at the Picture Wall.

 

“I walk so that he doesn’t have to use the car so much…” Ethan stared at Virgil.

 

“What’s the point of having a car if you’re not going to use it?”

 

Virgil listened as the car engine’s hum faded. “We don’t use it so that we don’t get traced…” Ethan’s eyes widened.

 

_ Traced? Does that mean…? _

 

Ethan glanced back at the photos. All of them were just Virgil and Logan, smiling.

 

_ Could it be…? _

 

Before Ethan could ask, Virgil gasped. Ethan turned to him and saw Virgil’s eyes widen.

 

“What?”

 

Virgil tried finding the right words and opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. So instead, he pointed at Ethan. Ethan followed Virgil’s gaze and gasped as he saw Rosie rising underneath his sweater. Unfortunately, she was rising a little too south in the sweater. Ethan shrieked and stood up. He immediately regretted the decision since Rosie came falling out of the sweater and landed on the ground with a  _ thud. _ Virgil gasped and practically jumped onto the highest point on the couch.

 

“Rosie!”

 

“IS THAT A FUCKING SNAKE?!”

 

Ethan scooped Rosie up and tried cradling her but Rosie attempted to slither away from him.

 

“Rosie, I’m sorry! Please-”

 

“THAT SNAKE IS YOURS?!?!”

 

“Yes, she is! I- Rosie,  _ please _ stop. I’m trying to apologize and comfort you!”

 

Ethan held Rosie close to him and Rosie slithered out and coiled herself. Ethan gasped as he took a few steps away. Rosie then hissed.

 

“Ethan, why the FUCK do you have a snake?!”

 

“...Because she’s my pet?”

 

“YOU HAVE A PET SNA-”

 

“YES I HAVE A PET SNAKE! WHAT OF IT?!”

 

“MY DAD’S GONNA FLIP WHEN HE FINDS OUT, THAT’S WHAT!!!!”

 

Rosie hissed louder and Virgil jumped behind the couch. Ethan took cover behind the couch as well.

 

“Okay, we should stop shouting…”

 

“Oh gee, you  _ think _ Ethan?” Ethan glared at Virgil who merely rolled his eyes. “Why didn’t you tell us you had a  _ snake _ ?”

 

“ _ Why _ would I tell you that?”

 

“ _ To avoid situations like these you little- _ ” Virgil stopped himself and ran a hand over his face.

 

_ He has a point there… _

 

Ethan peeked over the couch and felt his heart nearly stop.

 

“We have a problem…”

 

“ _ Really now _ ? And what would that  _ problem  _ be?”

 

“Rosie’s gone…”

 

“WHAT?!?!?!”

 

Virgil looked over to see that Rosie was, in fact, gone. He let out a groan and slid down to the floor.

 

“My dad’s gonna kill me…”

 

“We need to find her. Are there any open doors or windows?”

 

“No. Unless if you didn’t close your door but other than that, every other door is closed.”

 

“Then it shouldn’t be hard. We’ll find her and then I’ll just hide her when your dad gets back.”

 

Virgil muttered something under his breath and stood up. Ethan stood up as well.

 

“Didn’t think I’d be spending my day looking for a snake but here I am. Let’s fucking find her before something bad happens.”


	14. Chapter 14

Patton anxiously tapped his fingers along the counter and glanced nervously out the window. All previous attempts to calm himself had failed and he knew he couldn’t bake anything in the condition he was in.

 

_ Patton, calm down…Roman will get here as soon as possible, he told you that. _

 

And yet a part of him couldn’t help but feel doubtful.

 

_ Stop worrying…he’ll be able to help, he’s done this before… _

 

Patton ran his hands through his hair and continued to look out the window. Although he hated when he got like this, he was never able to prevent it. Fortunately, he was still able to prevent a full blown panic attack.

 

_ Breathe, just breathe. _

 

Patton took in a breath and counted to four in his head. He then held it in as he counted to seven. On seven, he released his breath.

 

_ Okay, that’s a little better… _

 

Patton heard the bell chime and he looked over to see Roman walk in as he shoved a few books into his backpack.

 

“Patton!” he called. “I came here as fast as I could! A few of my books fell but-”

 

Before Roman could finish his sentence, Patton took his stuff and set them down on the counter.

 

“Patton?”

 

“Roman, you need to help them.” Patton dragged Roman to the back room of the bakery and sighed. Roman looked around and noticed a few pieces of a shattered plate on the ground.

 

“Patton, what’s going on?”

 

“So, remember how I said Sam called?” Roman nodded. “And you know their sister, right?” Roman thought for a moment before shaking his head. “Okay, well, their sister is a bit of a…um, a bit of a bad bee…”

 

“Bad bee?”

 

“I don’t wanna say the word so just bear with me, yeah? You remember how the apartment building burned down?” Roman nodded again and made a mental note to check in with the department on that issue. “So, she lived in those apartments and after they burned down, she went to go live with Sam and - oh, she has a son, by the way - and Sam said that she would mistreat her son and I think she meant that she was abusing her son? I dunno, she didn’t really explain it to me-”

 

“Okay wait, hold on, slow down!” Roman said as he sort of waved his hands in front of him. He then walked off for a bit. Patton could feel his heart racing but as soon as he heard the sound of a faucet turn on, it slowed a bit. Roman returned to the room with a glass of water. “Please drink. I’m assuming you’ve been so worried that you haven’t had any.” Patton took the glass from him and practically downed it. He then set the glass down and took a deep breath.

 

“I’m sorry, I just…they hadn’t called in so long and when they told me that, I didn’t know how to react…”

 

“Well yeah, I probably wouldn’t either if I had been in your shoes.” Roman set the glass aside. “So, they witnessed their sister abuse her son?”

 

“Well, not exactly. They said that they noticed some bruises on her son’s back and when they asked him about it, he said that he had fallen on his back the day before.”

 

“And they don’t buy it?” Patton shook his head.

 

“Sam said they witnessed her always yelling at her son so that’s why they assumed it might’ve been something else.”

 

“I see…where do I come in with this, though? If you wanted me to investigate it, I don’t really have the authority to-”

 

“No, no, that’s not it! Or, well, it is…” Patton sighed and ran a hand over his face. “The kid’s missing.” Roman gasped.

 

“ _ What _ ?” Patton nodded.

 

“They told me that the day the kid went missing was the same day their sister left their apartment to go live with some other relative…”

 

“Oh my god. Did Sam report it to the police?”

 

“Sam didn’t have to. He was on the news a few days ago…”

 

Roman’s eyes widened and he stared blankly at the ground before taking out his phone. Patton watched as Roman frantically texted someone. Roman walked out of the back room and Patton followed. Before Patton could say anything to Roman, Roman quickly grabbed his bag and books.

 

“Patton, thank you for telling me this.”

 

“Yeah, of course. But-”

 

“Listen, I have to go to the police station right now. Fuck, there’s so many things I need to ask about now.” Roman looked up from his phone. “I promise I’ll come back tomorrow, okay?” Patton nodded and Roman ran out of the bakery without saying another word.

 

Patton leaned against the counter and placed his head in his hands.

 

_ It’s okay. Everything’s gonna be fine… _


	15. Chapter 15

Logan slowly drove through town, gently tapping his fingers on his steering wheel. He knew Virgil would be able to handle Ethan on his own but he had been cautious enough to leave Virgil with instructions on what to do if some sort of situation would arise.

 

_ He’ll be fine. I just need to find another sufficient distraction until it would be suitable to come home. _

 

He hadn’t told Virgil when he’d be home but he knew that Virgil would assume he’d come at around six or seven o’clock in the evening. Fortunately, it was already four o’clock. He had spent the last six hours taking a stroll in the park, reading a few books in the library, looking at some clothes for Virgil that he would probably like, eating some ice cream, annoying the barista again and doing a few other activities. The town was a lot smaller than Logan had realized it was. Sure, he had a map of it in his room and he had done all of the math beforehand and deduced that the town was small anyway (which made it a great area for living in for a long while). The thing is, he hadn’t actually digested that information and realized how small it was until he had toured it twice and practically memorized where everything was.

 

_ I wish we could get out more often _ …

 

That was a first for Logan.

 

For all of the sixteen years that Logan had lived in the town, not once had he considered ever leaving the house until now. Of course, that was why Virgil grew up to be the way that he is but Logan knew that at some point Virgil would leave him and he’d have to resort to finding solace in the empty space he’d leave behind.

 

Logan suddenly slammed on the brakes as something darted in front of the car. He gripped his steering wheel as he saw a kid stand up and brush himself off. As the kid turned around, Logan could make out the word “sorry” from the kid. He sat back in his seat and let out a sigh of relief.

 

_ I’m not sure what I would’ve done if I had killed another person… _

 

The thought made Logan shudder and he immediately cast it out of mind. He slowly started driving again and he kept his eyes glued to the road.

 

_ Where am I even going? I have an hour or so to kill before I can get back… _

 

Logan was brought out of his thoughts when he saw a familiar bakery in the distance.

 

_ Nevermind, I found it. _

 

The car slowed to a stop as he parked it across the street from the bakery. He peered inside and saw Patton sweeping the floor. Logan glanced around before he stepped out of his car and crossed the street. He locked his car before he walked into the bakery and when he stepped inside, he noticed the bakery was unusually empty.

 

“Patton?” Logan asked. Patton immediately stopped sweeping and looked up. Logan noticed his eyes were red and puffy. As Patton put on his best smile, Logan felt a slight pang in his chest.

 

“Logan!” Patton chirped. “How nice of you to drop by!” Logan smiled warmly.

 

“Well, I figured I’d drop by my favorite bakery just to pick up some sweets…and perhaps chat a little while.”

 

“Oh?” Logan nodded slightly. Patton cast the broom aside and walked behind the counter. “Well, will it be the usual?”

 

“Actually…” Logan leaned against the counter, still smiling. “I was curious to try some of your favorite sweets this time.” Patton’s eyes lit up and he nervously laughed.

 

“Are you sure you’d want to do that?” he asked. Logan nodded. Patton smiled softly and approached one of the various displays spread about the bakery. He carefully removed a few pastries from one of the displays and set them down on a tray. He then motioned to one of the tables. Logan hastily sat down and folded his hands as he watched Patton take more pastries out of other displays.

 

A few minutes went by and before Logan realized it, Patton had sat down at the table with a tray filled with a mountain of pastries. His eyes widened as he analyzed each pastry and when he looked up at Patton, he noticed his eyes weren’t as puffy or red anymore.

 

“So, are these all of them?” Patton nodded. “Which one should I try first?”

 

“Oh, don’t ask me that. You just look through them and choose the one you want to start with first.”

 

Logan looked back at the pastries.

 

_ This is going to take a while. _

 

“Well, I’m glad I have a lot of time on my hands to try each and every one of these.” Logan heard Patton laugh and the sound made his heart race a bit.

 

_ Calm down, it’s not a big deal. _

 

Unbeknownst to him, it was.

 

Logan picked out a pastry from the pile. It was a bit of a flat, flaky pastry with some sort of red filling in the middle oozing out of it.

 

“What’s this one?” he asked.

 

“Oh, those are guava pastries! I love those a lot.”

 

_ Guava, huh? Interesting. _

 

Logan took a bit from it and tasted nothing but flaky bread. Patton laughed again.

 

“You have to take a bigger bite than that to get to the filling.” Logan nodded and took another bite out of its center. This time he tasted the sweet filling and Patton did his best to hide his laugh as he watched Logan’s face light up.

 

“It’s…a little sweet for me,” he admitted between mouthfuls. “But it’s not bad.”

 

“Yay, glad you like that one! There’s also a different version of those with cream cheese in the middle with the guava filling. I love those a little more.”

 

Logan set the guava pastry down and looked back into the pile before him. He noticed a pastry in the shape of a heart. Or was it a heart? Logan picked it up and saw that the pastry curled in a way that almost looked like a heart but it was a little too wide for Logan to call it one.

 

“What’s this one called?”

 

“Oooh, that one has a lot of different names! Palmier, pig’s ear, elephant’s ear, oreja - it’s a good pastry,  _ especially _ when they’re warm and soft.”

 

Logan took a bite out of the surprisingly soft pastry and tasted the hint of cinnamon sprinkled on it.

 

“It’s not very sweet…”

 

“That one in particular, no. Usually, I put more cinnamon on them but I wasn’t sure if you liked your pastries  _ extremely sweet _ considering the pastries you get occasionally…”

 

_ Good point… _

 

Virgil had made fun of Logan at some point for his taste in sweets (no pun intended). Or rather, the lack thereof. If you asked Virgil to describe his taste, he’d tell you that Logan’s taste was “very bland” or “so dry it rivals the Sahara Desert”.

 

Logan set the pastry down and noticed a very familiar pastry in the pile.

 

“Is that a concha?”

 

“A  _ what _ ?”

 

“A concha.” Logan picked it up and showed it to Patton, who laughed.

 

“Oh, a  _ concha _ !”

 

“...Yeah, that’s what I said.” Patton stared at Logan.

 

“How did you pronounce it?”

 

“C-concha?”

 

Patton gasped and placed a hand over his mouth.

 

“You did  _ not _ just pronounce it like that…”

 

“Wha- how am I  _ supposed  _ to pronounce it?”

 

“Like this: concha.”

 

“Cone-”

 

“No! You don’t say  _ cone _ ! You say  _ con _ ! Logan, you either say it with a spanish accent or you don’t say it at all!”

 

Logan stared skeptically at Patton.

 

_ Is he serious? _

 

Patton stared back at Logan as serious as he could but eventually gave in and laughed again.

 

“I’m kidding, I’m not Roman. Good attempt at saying it, though.”

 

_ Oh, that explains it. _

 

“Does Roman throw a fit if it’s not pronounced correctly?” Patton nodded and Logan shook his head as he set the concha aside. Patton laughed some more and took a pastry from the pile.

 

“You’ve had pain au chocolat, right?”

 

Logan laughed and nodded. Patton ripped the bread in half and handed it to Logan. Logan took the bread and nibbled on it. Patton didn’t seem to notice as he ate.

 

_ At least he’s looking better now…wonder what happened… _

 

The bell above the door chimed and the two looked up to see a woman standing at the door. She didn’t look too happy about being there and her whole demeanor practically screamed: “fuck you”. Needless to say, neither Patton nor Logan liked her.

 

“Hello!” Patton chirped. Logan shuddered as he heard the fake politeness in Patton’s voice. “How may I help you?”

 

“Got any pineapple cake?” she asked. Patton nodded and immediately walked to the counter. The woman followed, as well as Logan’s gaze. Patton took out a couple of cakes and showed them off to the woman. Logan watched as the woman grimaced at most of them except for one. She pointed to it and Patton put the other cakes away and walked to the back room to package it.

 

The woman turned around and Logan immediately placed his attention on the pastries in front of him. He heard the woman mutter something under her breath before she turned back around. Logan glanced back at her, frowning.

 

_ I wonder if she has anything to do with… _

 

He picked up the guava pastry and took another bite from it. Patton returned with the box and rang the woman up. The woman picked up the box and Logan saw Patton’s polite demeanor drop. He would’ve laughed had the woman been facing away from him.

 

As she walked out, Logan could’ve sworn he heard her mutter, “Stupid kid. They better find him.”

 

_ I knew it… _

 

Patton walked back over to Logan.

 

“Is she new? Or-” Logan stopped as he saw Patton frown.

 

“She’s never step foot in the bakery but I know who she is…”

 

_ Oh. _

 

Patton sat down and let out a sigh.

 

“Everything’s always fine until she comes…” Patton looked up and smiled at Logan. “I’m glad you decided to drop by. Made me feel a lot better.”

 

“You’re welcome, Patton.” Patton grinned and Logan hesitated on his question.

 

“So, I realize now that you may not have time to eat all of these pastries-”

 

“Yes, I was just about to ask if I could take these home and try them myself. Of course, I won’t know the names but if I like them, I’ll take pictures of them and just show them to you so that you can tell me the name.” Patton nodded and picked up the tray. The two then stood up and walked over to the counter.

 

“Let me package these for you real quick.” Logan nodded and watched Patton walk into the back room again.

 

_ They still think he’s missing…Perhaps I can- no. I’m not sure how long I could hide him… _

 

Logan gently nibbled on his concha and shook his head.

 

_ I hid Virgil for a couple of years…it’s not like I could do it again, though… _

 

Patton walked back in and set the box on the counter.

 

“Would you want me to give you a bag for the other pastries?” Logan nodded and Patton handed a bag to him. Logan gently stuffed the pastries in the bag and fumbled for his wallet. “It’s on the house, Logan.”

 

“What?”

 

“You don’t have to pay for them.”

 

“No, Patton, I can’t possibly-”

 

“Please, Logan, I insist.” Patton smiled warmly. Logan felt his heart soar.

 

“Alright, if you insist. But I’ll be coming back and paying for them.” Patton chuckled and nodded.

 

“Fine, if you insist.” Logan smiled. “Tell Virgil I say hello, okay?” Logan nodded. “I’m sure he’ll appreciate all of the pastries you’re bringing home.”

 

“Yes, I’m sure he will.”

 

_ He won’t be the only one either. _

 

“Goodbye, Patton.”

 

“Bye, Logan!”

 

And with that, Logan walked out of the bakery, smiling.

 

He reached his car and set the box and bag in the passenger’s seat. As he started the car, an idea came to his head.

 

_ Hm, yes…that’s a good idea…besides, I haven’t done anything in a while…and I’m sure Roman can handle it…but I’m going to need to consult Virgil for this one… _

 

Logan smiled and formulated his plan as he drove home.


	16. Chapter 16

“I’ve never been more fed up in my  _ life _ , Ethan, and that is counting the entiRETY OF MY MIDDLE SCHOOL AND CURRENT HIGH SCHOOL YEARS,  _ ETHAN _ .”

 

Ethan looked away from Virgil and gently stroked Rosie’s head. Rosie gently nuzzled her head in his hand in response. Virgil got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen. Ethan watched as Virgil looked through a few cabinets before locating a white bottle. It rattled as Virgil set it down and Ethan could see him shaking.

 

_ Gee, this really fucked him up, didn’t it? _

 

Virgil shakily took a pill from the bottle and downed a glass of water he had poured himself. He stared out the kitchen window and looked out into the front yard. Logan wasn’t home yet and Virgil wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. He placed the bottle back and walked into the living room to see Ethan staring at him.

 

“What is it now?” he asked.

 

“You take medication…”

 

“Yeah, I have this thing called anxiety. Not sure if you’ve heard of it.”

 

Ethan rolled his eyes and glanced back down at Rosie. He had always assumed Virgil suffered from something - it was one of the main reasons he had bullied him, actually - and now he got confirmation. Ethan wasn’t sure if that made things better or worse.

 

Virgil sat back down on the couch. Rosie curled around Ethan’s hand and gently flicked her tongue. Ethan gently pat her head and did his best to focus on her.

 

“Ethan?”

 

Ethan glanced at Virgil. Virgil sat forward with his arms crossed over his knees. It looked kind of weird to Ethan but he didn’t question it.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Why would someone want to kidnap you?”

 

Ethan shifted. “...What do you mean?”

 

“I mean why would someone just come out of the blue and kidnap you?”

 

“...You expect me to  _ know _ that?!”

 

Virgil shrugged. “I dunno, I just thought you had some sort of idea as to why.”

 

Ethan didn’t say anything. Rosie turned to face Virgil and flicked her tongue. Virgil noticed but didn’t do anything. Rosie, seemingly discontent with Virgil’s reaction (or lack thereof), turned away and focused back on Ethan.

 

With nothing to talk about, silence filled the room. Virgil slowly sank in his seat and leaned his head against the couch to stare up at the ceiling. Ethan glanced at him every now and then, slightly unnerved at how lifeless Virgil looked in that position, and then realized he had been staring a little too long when Rosie hissed. Ethan returned his attention to her and held her close to his chest.

 

Just then, the front door opened. Ethan looked up and saw Logan walk in.

 

“Well, I see that neither of you moved from your spots,” he commented as he shut the door. “I presume there was no trouble?”

 

“No, none at all,” Virgil mumbled. Logan walked in and approached them.

 

“Are you alright, Virgil?”

 

Virgil nodded and lifted his head. “I was just thinking.” He gently rubbed his neck and glanced at Ethan. Rosie was gone. “So, how was work.” Logan heaved a sigh. Virgil laughed and looked back up at Logan. “Shouldn’t have mentioned it?”

 

“I don’t want to be reminded of all the idiots I work with right now,” Logan muttered as he walked to his room. Virgil chuckled and watched his dad disappear to his room. The smile dropped as he turned to Ethan.

 

“Where’s-”

 

Ethan held a finger up to his lips and gently lifted Rosie from his pocket.

 

“How does she fit-”

 

“Luck, I guess.”

 

Virgil stared at her for a bit before shrugging and turning away.

 

Logan walked out of his room and into the kitchen.

 

“Virgil, please tell me you ate.”

 

“Of course I did, dad.”

 

“Ethan?”

 

Ethan didn’t answer immediately. He couldn’t remember if he had seen Virgil eat at all.

 

_ Did he eat? _

 

Ethan glanced between Virgil and Logan before answering, “Yeah, we ate.”

 

“Well, that’s good to hear.”

 

Virgil glanced at Ethan but didn’t say anything. Ethan kept his gaze on Virgil who was now playing with his hands.

 

“Well, I’m afraid I have business matters to attend to so you two will fend for yourselves tonight, alright?” Ethan and Virgil nodded. “Good. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” Logan walked past the two, gently patting Virgil’s shoulder as he passed by, and shut himself in his room.

 

_ Wonder what he’s up to, _ Virgil thought as he stared at the door.

 

Ethan got up and walked over to the guest room. Virgil noticed Rosie coiled around his hand.

 

_ He really loves that snake…I guess I would too if that’s the only thing I had… _

 

Virgil glanced back at Logan’s door.

 

_ I guess I would too… _

 

**~~~~~~~~~~**

 

“So, you  _ didn’t  _ find anything?” Roman asked. The police officer nodded. “Okay…so, now we know we definitely have a missing person on our hands…”

 

Roman leaned against the desk and ran a hand over his face. A part of Roman had hoped they would find Ethan in the field but seeing as they found nothing, he figured Ethan wasn’t too far from the town.

 

“And this friend of yours…” the officer started.

 

“Which one?”

 

“The one that relayed you this new information.”

 

“Oh, Patton.”

 

“Yes, him. He said he got the information from an old friend of yours?” Roman nodded. “And she hadn’t called for some time?” Roman nodded again. “Why?”

 

“Uh, well, it wasn’t safe for them to…”

 

“What do you mean by that?”

 

“Well they, uh, were in a toxic situation? At least from what I remember. They wouldn’t tell us much, not that they  _ could _ , and so they didn’t call-”

 

“So, does this call mean they are no longer in this toxic situation?”

 

“Uh…maybe? I hope so, anyway. But I don’t see-”

 

“Listen, we’re going to have to see if we can get any other information from her-”

 

“Them,” Roman corrected.

 

“Oh, sorry. We are going to have to interview them to see if they know anything else about the missing kid. Do you think they’ll have anything?”

 

Roman shrugged. “From what I remember, they’d hardly ever seen from the mom and kid…But then again, I wouldn’t know.”

 

The officer nodded and made a note on his desk. “Is that all you came for?” Roman nodded. “We’ll call you in if there’s anything new, alright Roman? Don’t sweat it.” Roman nodded. “You should get home and get some rest.”

 

“Yeah…I’ll go do that…” Roman stood up and picked up his backpack. “Bye guys.” All the officers replied with a goodbye and Roman walked out of the station. He took a deep breath and looked around. Everything was quiet. Peaceful.

 

_ I need to talk to Remy… _


	17. Chapter 17

Virgil couldn’t tell you how nervous he was when he passed through the school gates. Although he knew no one would figure out where Ethan was, he couldn’t help but feel his anxiety creep up as endless scenarios filled his mind.

 

_ What happens if they  _ **_do_ ** _ figure it out? Will they end up taking my dad to jail? Would we end up moving towns? Does that mean I’d have to change my identity? _

 

Virgil gently hit his head against his locker and frowned.

 

_ I’m overthinking this…Just act normal…or have a really good lie thought up in case anyone asks what’s wrong. _

 

Virgil was sure no one would, though, since hardly anyone paid attention to him unless Ethan was around. But he was proved wrong when he grabbed his books from his locker and turned to see Roman standing next to him. Virgil jumped slightly and closed his locker door.

 

“Hey, Virgil.”

 

“Roman.”

 

“Sorry if I, uh, scared you there…” Roman rubbed the back of his neck and glanced down at the floor. Virgil shrugged.

 

“It’s whatever, I guess. Why are you here?”

 

“Oh yeah, that.” Roman didn’t look up. Virgil watched as he shifted his weight on each foot. “I, uh, don’t mean to bother you, I just…”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Listen, I need help.” Roman glanced up at Virgil. Virgil wasn’t sure if he was imagining things or if he really  _ was _ seeing the faint blush that appeared on Roman’s cheeks.

 

_ No, that can’t…that can’t be right… _

 

“Help with…what exactly?”

 

“Well, chem homework, mainly.”

 

“...and?”

 

“That’s it, really. I was gonna ask something else but it would be rather forward of me if I did, so…”

 

Virgil didn’t say anything at first. He focused on Roman’s awkward demeanor. Normally, he would’ve  _ loved _ seeing Roman like this since it proved that he wasn’t all high and mighty but as of now, it was suggesting something that Virgil wasn’t sure he was understanding correctly.

 

“I mean…I can help you. Just tell me when and where and I’m pretty sure I’ll be there.” Roman smiled slightly. “The only thing is you’d have to let my dad know.”

 

Had Roman not been standing directly in front of him, Virgil would’ve burst out laughing at the look of sheer terror on Roman’s face. Of course, he wasn’t  _ actually _ going to make him do that since that would interfere with Logan’s plans but the reaction he got was worth it.

 

“Relax, Roman. I’m just messing with you.”

 

Roman let out a sigh of relief and Virgil did his best to stifle his laugh.

 

“Let me know as soon as possible, yeah?” Roman nodded vigorously and grinned.

 

“Yeah, of course! I-”

 

The bell interrupted Roman. Roman frowned slightly but returned his attention to Virgil.

 

“I should be able to tell you by the time lunch rolls around!”

 

Virgil nodded and Roman walked off to his class. The second Roman had turned his back to him, Virgil frowned.

 

_ Damn you…Damn you for having a nice smile…and for being a hero… _

 

Virgil trudged to his class, hoping that what he saw had meant nothing.

 

**~~~~~~~~~~**

 

The kid next Virgil tapped his pencil against his desk.

 

On any other day, Virgil would have disregarded the noise but today just didn’t seem work out in his favor. First, he dropped his book on his foot. Then, a large hole ripped in his backpack, nearly dropping all of his books and papers.  _ Then _ his pencil goes missing which Virgil didn’t think too much about until he realized he had a math test later that day.

 

_ It’s all Roman’s fault… _

 

Virgil let out a frustrated sigh and put his head down on his desk. He imagined Logan’s voice in his head telling him how illogical the idea was and how he had somehow brought this upon himself. For once, Virgil couldn’t argue with him.

 

_ Damn you. _

 

Virgil placed his arms over his head and did his best to block out the sound.

 

_ I just have a few more minutes in class…it’ll be fine…I’ll get through it… _

 

Just as Virgil lifted his head, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw a text from Logan. He glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention before opening the message.

 

**Dad:** I forgot to tell you the new plan. I think you’ll like it and it will work hand in hand with your plan.

 

_ Will it now? I have to see this… _

 

**Virgil:** Really? Tell me

 

Virgil set his phone face down and glanced up at the clock. There were five minutes left of class. He heard kids start packing up.

 

_ Good. No one will be paying attention to me… _

 

His phone buzzed again and he picked it up.

 

**Dad:** I’ll tell you when you get home.

 

_ Of course. Why am I not surprised? _

 

**Virgil:** -_-

 

**Virgil:** Seriously dad??

 

Virgil watched his screen as he waited for a response.

 

**Dad:** What?

  
  


**Dad:** I can’t tell you right now, I have to keep an eye on Ethan.

 

**Dad:** Speaking of which, no one at school has asked about him, have they?

 

**Virgil:** No

 

_ Thankfully. _

 

**Dad:** Good.

 

The bell rang. All of the kids rushed out and nearly trampled each other as they rushed to lunch. Virgil picked up his bag and walked out of class.

 

_ I’m going to have to get a new backpack. Damn, I should’ve told dad. _

 

Virgil approached his locker and saw people rush past him, screaming. He grit his teeth slightly but let out a long sigh and did his best to open his locker with his phone in his hand. Just as he was about to get it open, someone bumped into him which caused his bag and phone to fall onto the floor. The person rushed past him and Virgil glared after the person.

 

_ Fucking prick. _

 

He knelt down and did his best to gather up all of his things. Fortunately, he didn’t pick everything up himself. As Virgil reached out for one of his books, he saw someone pick it up for him. He looked up to see Roman gathering up a few of his papers on top of the book.

 

“Roman?”

 

Roman looked up and flashed a small smile.

 

“Yeah, hey.” Roman held out Virgil’s book and papers in front of him. “You got a lot of papers. Why don’t you have a folder for them?”

 

Virgil gingerly took the book and papers from Roman and shrugged. “I  _ did _ have one but…it’s kinda ripped so…”

 

“Oh I see. Same here, to be honest. It’s why all of my papers are all out of order and I can never find anything.”

 

Virgil would’ve laughed had he not been going through a bad day, but he felt rude not to react at all so he offered a small nod and hoped it would be enough. It was. Roman’s smile grew a bit.

 

_ Damn. _

 

Virgil stood up and turned to his locker.

 

“You want me to hold those for you while you open it?”

 

Virgil groaned inwardly.

 

_ You truly are a hero…This is gonna be a lot harder than I thought… _

 

“I mean, I  _ guess _ , if you don’t mind-”

 

“Not at all!” Roman took the books and grabbed the papers before they could fall.

 

Virgil was slightly surprised by the enthusiasm Roman had but disregarded it as Roman just being like that and opened his locker.

 

“So, uh, about chem…”

 

_ Oh, no wonder… _

 

“Oh yeah.” Virgil took two of the heaviest books from the stack and put them away in the locker. “Figured out when and where?”

 

“Well, not a day yet  _ but _ there are a few places I’m considering…”

 

Virgil grabbed the stack of papers and flipped through them. “Oh really?”

 

“Yeah. I wasn’t sure if you would be comfortable with any of them so I figured I’d just tell them all to you and see if any of them work for you.”

 

Virgil set the papers down and grabbed another book from Roman. “Alright then. Hit me.”

 

Roman grinned and shifted the books slightly. “Well, the first place I thought of was the bakery since I’m familiar with the place and because Patton could give us free food.”

 

Virgil placed the book in his locker. “Mhm.”

 

“The second place I thought of was the library since, well, it’s the quietest place we could go to and no one would really bother us.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“The third place I thought of, as a sort of last resort, really, was my house…”

 

Virgil turned to Roman and saw that he was staring down at the book in his hands. He noticed his ears were pink and figured he was blushing again.

 

_ There’s no way I can go there… _

 

“Well, the first two sound fine but you don’t sound so sure about that last one.” Virgil took the last book from Roman. Roman flinched slightly and Virgil assumed it was because he was nervous.

 

“Yeah…” Roman rubbed the back of his neck. “Again, that one’s a bit of a last resort in case the other two places don’t work out…”

 

“Ah, I see. So, still no day, huh?”

 

Roman looked up at Virgil. “Well, I was thinking tomorrow but that would’ve been too soon so I guess any time this week is alright with me.”

 

“Alright. Just let me tell my dad and-” Virgil froze.

 

_ Shit. _

 

“Virgil?”

 

“I dropped my phone.”

 

Roman gasped and the two glanced around the hall.

 

“Is that it?” Roman pointed to a black cylinder across the hall.

 

“What the  _ fuck _ ? How did it get  _ there _ ?”

 

Roman walked over to it and picked it up. Roman gasped again and Virgil heard a “sss” sound escape him.

 

_ FUCK _ .

 

Roman slowly made his way over to him. He held out Virgil’s phone face down and Virgil stared at it.

 

“...how badly did it crack?”

 

Roman didn’t reply immediately. He flipped the phone over and Virgil felt his heart stop.

 

Cracked wasn’t enough to describe how his screen looked. Shattered wasn’t really the right word either, but saying the screen had been obliterated would’ve been over dramatic even  _ if _ that’s what it looked like.

 

“Fuck…my dad’s gonna  _ kill  _ me!”

 

Virgil threw his book into his locker and slammed it shut before running a hand through his hair. Roman took a few steps away from Virgil and watched as he muttered something under his breath. Was he scared? Yes. Was he going to try to calm him down? Maybe. Maybe not, though.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

Virgil let out a sigh and turned to Roman. His hair fully covered his eyes and he swept it aside, frowning.

 

“Don’t apologize for something you didn’t do.” Virgil held his hand out and Roman carefully placed his phone in his hand. Virgil stared at it before shoving it into his pocket. “I’m overreacting. It was a shitty phone anyway, so it’s whatever.”

 

“Are…are you sure?”

 

Virgil shrugged. “I mean, my dad’s gonna have to get it fixed and he’ll be slightly pissed off but it should be fine…Sorry you had to see that…” Virgil looked away and let his hair fall over his eyes again.

 

Roman reached out and placed his hand on Virgil’s shoulder. Virgil looked at him.

 

“It’s fine. I get it. I’d react like that if my phone cracked like that. Then again, I’d probably be crying and screaming since it means so much to me and it has all my music and photos and videos and memories…” Virgil watched as Roman’s eyes went wide. “Oh my god, how did you  _ not freak out _ ?”

 

Virgil smiled a bit and shrugged again. “Miracle, right?” Roman nodded which made Virgil laugh. Roman smiled.

 

“Is this gonna affect-”

 

“No, I don’t think so. The only thing is that if my phone isn’t working by that day, I’m just going to have to use your phone to call him or something.”

 

“Oh, that’s fine! I-”

 

Roman’s phone buzzed. He frowned and searched his pockets. Virgil hid his smile as he watched Roman search through all of his pockets and backpack.

 

“What the-? Where is-”

 

“Roman.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“You’re…you’re holding it.”

 

Roman looked down at his hand to see that he was, in fact, holding his phone. Roman’s face flushed red and Virgil failed at hiding his laugh.

 

Roman answered the phone call while looking away from Virgil. Virgil tried to get himself to stop laughing since he knew what it felt like to be embarrassed like that. He may or may not have done that a few times himself.

 

When Roman ended his call, he ran a hand over his face and kept his hand over one side.

 

“I’m so embarrassed…” Virgil heard Roman mumble.

 

“If it…if it makes you feel better, I won’t tell anyone.”

 

Roman nodded vigorously. “ _ Please _ .”

 

Virgil nodded and gently pat Roman on the back.

 

“Don’t worry, I got you. I know what it feels like. Anyway, you should probably get going. Your friends are probably waiting for you.”

 

“Yeah…listen, if I can find you later, I’ll tell you the day, okay?” Virgil nodded. Roman walked off with a grin on his face. Virgil figured it wouldn’t last long.

 

He glanced down at his backpack and picked it up. The hole wasn’t as large as he had thought it was. He wasn’t sure how almost everything had fallen out from it, though.

 

_ Maybe I can patch it up with duct tape… _

 

He looked up and watched Roman disappear as he turned the corner. He frowned.

 

_ I should’ve asked him for a pencil. _


	18. Chapter 18

“So, you embarrassed yourself in front of your crush?” Patton asked. Roman groaned and nodded as he gently hit his head against the counter. “No no no! Don’t do that!” Patton held his head up. “You’re going to hurt yourself!” Roman frowned. Patton slowly let go.

 

“I already  _ have _ hurt myself! I fell in love with him, Pat!”

 

“Oh, so I shouldn’t be calling him your crush? Should I be calling him your Romeo? Or your prince? Or king? Or knight in shining armor? Or-”

 

“Padre, please!” Roman blushed and hid his face in his hands. Patton laughed.

 

“Sorry, kiddo.” Roman looked up at Patton. “Look, don’t worry about it. He told you he wouldn’t tell anyone, right?” Roman nodded. “Then? It’ll just stay between you and him. And me, of course.”

 

“Yeah…”

 

“Unless if you plan on telling Remy, too.”

 

Roman gasped and screamed in his hands.

 

“I’m going to take that as a no.” Roman nodded and hid his face again. Patton pulled Roman into a hug. “It’s alright, Roman. You’ll live.” Roman peeked out from his hands.

 

“I hope so.”

 

“You always do.” Patton let go of him. “Anything else happen?” Roman shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. He then remembered Virgil’s angry reaction to his phone cracking. “Actually-” He stopped himself. Did he really want to tell Patton that?

 

_ I probably shouldn’t… _

 

“Yes?”

 

“Nothing, never mind.”

 

Patton stared at Roman and watched as his face suddenly flushed red.

 

“Alright, something else definitely happened. What was it?” Roman shook his head.

 

“N-No, it’s nothing…” Roman stared down at the counter and felt his face heat up even more.

 

“Roman-”

 

“I saw his eyes today, is all…”

 

“Roman, that  _ is _ something! Didn’t you tell me he always kept them covered?” Roman nodded. “And you saw them! That’s great! What do they-”

 

“Pat, no, I didn’t really  _ see _ them…He had brushed his hair away…” Roman’s words trailed off and Patton could see his ears darken.

 

“Oh, I see. You thought he looked hot.”

 

“ _ Patton, no! _ ” Roman buried his face in his hands and screamed again.

 

“Roman, you are the  _ worst _ liar I have  _ ever _ met!”

 

“No I’m not! Shush!”

 

Patton laughed. “Aw, kiddo, it’s okay to admit it. You know I won’t judge you.”

 

“It’s not that Patton…” Roman dragged his hands down his face and frowned.

 

“Still not comfortable admitting it?”

 

Roman set his head down on the counter. “I guess…I don’t know…Pat, I can’t do this.”

 

“Do what?”

 

“Keep hiding my feelings like this…”

 

Patton frowned and pulled Roman into a hug again. This time, Roman hugged back.

 

“You can’t tell him, huh?”

 

“He still doesn’t know me…and besides, even if he  _ did _ , he’d think I’m a weirdo or something.”

 

“Maybe…I don’t know if he  _ really  _ would think that, though.”

 

Roman didn’t say anything. Instead, he stared out the window of the bakery and sighed.

 

“You said earlier that you asked him to help you with chem homework?”

 

“Yeah…”

 

“Why don’t you treat that as a date?”

 

“ _ What? _ ”

 

“Well, yeah. Obviously, you won’t be telling him or anything but just treat him with your charm. Warm him up to you and get him comfortable being around you so that if you decide you need more help, he’ll be more likely to say yes and then  _ that _ will help you get closer and  _ then _ you’ll end up asking him out on a date and-”

 

“Stop there. Please.”

 

“Oh…sorry if-”

 

“No no, your idea’s great! I’m just trying to figure out how I’m gonna do that.”

 

“Oh!”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Why don’t you get Remy to help?”

 

Roman covered his face and screamed in his hands.

 

“Alright, I’ll take that as a no.”

 

Roman uncovered his face and nodded.

 

“Alright, kiddo. Fair enough.”


	19. Chapter 19

The front door slammed shut and Ethan heard Virgil walk in, muttering to himself.

 

“Virgil?” Logan asked. Ethan didn’t hear Virgil respond but he did hear something drop on the couch. Then he heard Logan gasp. “How did that happen?”

 

“That’s not the only thing,” Virgil mumbled. Logan gasped again.

 

“Oh my god! How-”

 

“It’s a long story.”

 

Ethan crept over to the door and sat in front of it.

 

_ What the hell’s happening? _

 

Ethan heard the couch shift and assumed Virgil had sat down.

 

“Well?” Logan asked.

 

“Let’s just say that today wasn’t my day and just leave it at that.” Logan didn’t say anything. “What am I gonna do about this?”

 

“Well, I could try and fix it but it’s going to take a few days-” Virgil interrupted Logan with a groan.

 

_ So…something broke… _

 

“I don’t know how long I’ll last without music, dad.”

 

_ His phone broke. _

 

“Well, the fastest way I could do this would be working the rest of today and all of tomorrow on it but then that interferes with your plans-”

 

“ _ Actually _ , it won’t.”

 

_ Plans? What plans? _

 

“No?”

 

“No. An opportunity has presented itself and I intend to take full advantage of it.”

 

“Well, that sounds good. Mind telling me what this opportunity is?”

 

Virgil didn’t say anything for a while. Ethan figured he was whispering it to him or maybe he hadn’t actually said it. It didn’t matter, though, since Rosie had managed to fall off of the bed and land near him with a  _ thud _ . Ethan gasped and reached for Rosie.

 

“Rosie! Are you okay?!”

 

Rosie didn’t say anything, obviously. She stared up at Ethan and stuck her tongue out. Ethan sighed.

 

“I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be able to hide you…”

 

Although he had successfully avoided another incident with Rosie, Ethan was sure Logan had become suspicious of his constant shifting and fidgeting. Just before Virgil had come home, Ethan had managed to hide Rosie from Logan’s sight under his pillow but he wasn’t sure what it had looked like from Logan’s eyes. When he had looked up at Logan, Logan had looked confused. He didn’t say anything about it, though.

 

“WHAT?!”

 

Ethan flinched as he heard Logan shout.

 

_ What the- _

 

“Dad, relax! I don’t-”

 

“Virgil,  _ no _ .”

 

“What? No wh-”

 

“I  _ will not  _ allow it!”

 

“You won’t allow wh-”

 

“He thinks he’s  _ so _ clever, doesn’t he?”

 

“Dad-”

 

“Well, he’s  _ not _ !”

 

“DAd-”

 

“I will  _ not  _ let  _ my son _ -”

 

“DAD-”

 

“Go out with such a- such a- such a _spoiled_ _brat_ like _him_!”

 

“DAD, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!?!?!”

 

“Virgil, don’t you see it?!” There wasn’t a response but Ethan could practically see Virgil’s scared reaction. “It’s a  _ date _ , Virgil!”

 

“WHAT THE FUCK?! NO IT’S NOT DAD!!!”

 

“Yes it  _ is _ , Virgil!”

 

“NO IT’S NOT! IT’S  _ LITERALLY  _ JUST CHEMISTRY HOME-”

 

“Oh, and I wonder why it’s  _ chemistry _ homework, Virgil!”

 

“DAD STOP IT! YOU’RE LOOKING TOO FAR INTO THINGS!  _ STOP _ !”

 

Ethan’s eyes widened and he held his ear against the door. He wasn’t sure why since it wasn’t like he was going to hear any better but he could certainly say he was curious.

 

“Virgil, all I’m saying is-”

 

“Dad,  _ please _ don’t. Don’t make this any more awkward than it has to be…”

 

Ethan heard Logan sigh and he could only imagine how embarrassed Virgil looked right about now.

 

Rosie nudged Ethan’s head. Ethan glanced down and saw her stick her tongue out again.

 

“What?” he asked her. “I’m not doing anything wrong…”

 

Rosie turned away and curled around his hand. He sighed and gently stroked her head.

 

_ Alright, maybe it’s a bad thing… _

 

Ethan held Rosie close to her and frowned.

 

“Virgil…”

 

“What is it now, dad?”

 

“Are you…Do you like him?”

 

“Oh my god, I  _ cannot  _ believe you just asked me that-”

 

“Virgil, please! It’s a serious question!”

 

“You  _ seriously _ think I’m into him? Or that I would come up with a plan like this because I harbor romantic feelings for him?”

 

“...No.”

 

“Then?”

 

“I’m sorry! It’s just that with what’s been happening lately, I don’t know what to think anymore!”

 

Silence filled the room. Ethan could feel his heart pounding out of his chest. He wasn’t entirely sure why but he figured he was still recovering from his initial shock when Logan shouted.

 

_ Damn…what’s gonna happen to me? _

 

Ethan immediately shook his head and cast the thought out of his head. He didn’t want to think of what would happen if they wound up getting caught. He knew he’d go back to Janet and no amount of running away and good grades would be able to save him from her.

 

“Alright, look, you wanna talk hypotheticals? Let’s say I  _ do _ end up falling for him -  _ highly unlikely _ , by the way, but for the sake of this let’s say I do - what would you  _ want _ me to do?”

 

“I…I’d want you to go with your reasoning.”

 

“Right. Which is…what, exactly?”

 

“...I don’t know. You tell me.”

 

_ I don’t want to know… _

 

Ethan suddenly heard footsteps approach his door. He gasped and tried to back away but unfortunately, he wasn’t quick enough. As the door opened, he fell through. He looked up and saw Virgil looking down at him, frowning.

 

_ Oh fuck… _

 

“Good to know we have a listener in this household now.”

 

“I’m-”

 

“Don’t, Ethan.”

 

Virgil walked away from him. Ethan sat up and watched Virgil disappear down the hall. He saw Logan’s eyes linger on him for a moment before following Virgil. Virgil’s door slammed shut and Logan stood up from the couch with a sigh. He picked up Virgil’s backpack and walked over to his room. Ethan listened as his door slammed shut, too.

 

_ I really don’t want to know what would happen… _


	20. Chapter 20

Roman flopped down on his bed and let out a sigh.

 

_ I’m here, I’m queer, and I’m  _ **_sooo_ ** _ over chemistry… _

 

He rolled over onto his back and stared up at his ceiling.

 

His day had been hectic. Not Virgil’s day hectic but pretty damn close.

 

Nothing had come up from the police station. Sam had been interviewed but the police couldn’t really use the information they gave so now they were back at square one. Patton seemed to be doing better but Roman could feel that he was still hurt by the comment he had made a few days ago. Virgil for some reason couldn’t look him in the eye all day and they still hadn’t really agreed on a day but Virgil had hinted that his dad wasn’t especially fond of the idea.

 

_ He’s probably homophobic and thinks we’re going to do something… _

 

The thought brought a frown to Roman’s face.

 

_ I guess I’m going to have to try some other way… _

 

Roman’s phone buzzed and he glanced over to see his screen light up with a text notification from Remy.

 

He reached over for his phone and picked it up.

 

**Remy:** hey princey, got a minute???

 

**Roman:** yeah, what’s up?

 

Roman set his phone down on his chest and stared out his window. He could barely make out the city below him but he could see just how small it was. Sure, he’d always noticed but today he  _ really _ noticed it.

 

His phone buzzed again and he immediately took his phone off his chest.

 

_ I need to stop doing that… _

 

He gently rubbed his chest as he opened Remy’s message.

 

**Remy:** so u kno how u cant tell ur crush u like him???

 

Roman rolled his eyes.

 

**Roman:** sure, i guess. Why?

 

Roman watched as Remy typed his message.

 

**Remy:** cuz i have a couple of ideas u could use

 

**Roman:** No

 

**Roman:** pls don’t

 

**Roman:** i’m still trying to get used to admitting stuff

 

Roman sat up and set his phone down beside him. He stared out this window again and frowned.

 

_ Why is this so complicated for me? Why? _

 

Roman’s phone buzzed.

 

**Remy:** i get that

 

**Remy:** but u need to actually start admitting stuff

 

**Remy:** and i know that sounds stupid

 

**Remy:** but im kinda tired of seeing u frustrated like this

 

**Remy:** and im tired of hearing u say that ull do it soon

 

**Remy:** aren’t u tired of it???

 

**Roman:** of course i’m tired of it Remy

 

**Roman:** but i just don’t think i can do it

 

Roman frowned at his message and felt tears brimming at his eyes.

 

**Remy:** ur afraid hes gonna reject u

 

**Roman:** yeah

 

**Roman:** I guess

 

**Roman:** leave me alone

 

**Remy:** cant do that

 

**Remy:** or else ull do somethin stupid

 

_ I guess he’s right… _

 

**Roman:** what do you want me to do then?

 

Roman’s phone turned off. He gasped as he saw the dead battery signal flash at him. He got up and looked around the room for his charger.

 

_ Damn, where did I put it? _

 

Roman searched under the bed and in his closet, his two most popular places where he regularly would throw his charger but found nothing. He walked downstairs to the kitchen and saw it plugged into one of the outlets. He let out a sigh of relief and plugged his phone in.

 

_ That was close… _

 

He hoisted himself onto his counter and waited for his phone to revive itself.

 

_ I wonder what I could do…I wonder what Virgil’s doing right now…Wonder where he lives. _

 

Roman got down from the counter and walked back upstairs to his window. He leaned out and scanned the town. He saw the same apartment buildings and houses and wondered whether Virgil lived in an apartment or house.

 

_ Well, it’s just the two of them as far as I know…that means they probably live in an apartment… _

 

Roman glanced around his room and gave it a second thought.

 

_ Alright, maybe a house works, too. _

 

He cupped his face and rested his elbows on his windowsill. He stared wistfully out into the town and let out a sigh.

 

_ I guess it starts here… _

 

“Virgil…I don’t know where you live…or what you’re doing right now…or anything about you, really…” Roman let out another sigh and let his head fall in between his hands. He then gripped his windowsill and leaned out as far as he could, screaming, “I DON’T KNOW YOU BUT ALL I KNOW IS THAT I THINK YOU’RE DREAMY AND I WANT TO BE IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU BUT I DON’T KNOW HOW TO SAY THAT OR IF YOU FEEL THE SAME WAY!!!!!”

 

Roman leaned back into his room and flopped onto the floor. He ran his hands over his face and groaned.

 

_ I said it…it’s a start. _

 

Roman slowly got up and walked back downstairs. He grabbed his phone and watched as it lit up with a notification from Remy. He opened it and laughed as he read it.

 

**Remy:** i dont kno if this will help but i say to just scream out that you love him

 

**Remy:** like outside your window or somethin

 

**Remy:** it helps me when im angry so im thinking maybe itll help you

 

**Remy:** idk tho

 

_ It helped me, Remy. It really did. _


	21. Chapter 21

Patton had been cleaning out the back room when he accidentally knocked over a few of his paint supplies. He picked them up and spread them out across the counter.

 

_ I haven’t painted in a while. It’s a slow day today, too… _

 

Patton looked around for a canvas and spotted the painting he had stowed away behind a few boxes. Although he had liked the way it was going, he just didn’t have the motivation to finish it.

 

He picked up the painting and smiled a bit. Roman’s side was finished. He stood on a pedestal, sporting his typical “heroic stance”. His cape was flowing behind him and the entire town stood behind him, cheering and clapping. The villain’s side was still empty, though.

 

Everyone in the town was thankful that there hadn’t been a villain in the town for a while since Roman had sent him to jail but Patton could tell that everyone was now bored. Yes, there had been a bit of chaos. Villains are villains, after all, and will take every opportunity to wreak havoc.

 

At least, that’s what everyone believes.

 

But there had been a bit of fun during all that chaos. It had been a sort of crime show for the town, really. They’d always ask Roman what his next move was. Then the villain would strike and it was up to Roman to figure out how to stop the villain. When Roman finally captured the villain, the town celebrated for at least two weeks before going back to their normal lives.

 

_ Maybe we could use another villain…maybe.  _

 

Patton heard the bell chime. He set the painting down on the counter and walked out to see Logan standing there, fidgeting with his hands.

 

“Oh, hello Logan!” Patton greeted cheerfully. Logan looked up.

 

“Hello, Patton.” Logan slowly approached the counter.

 

“Something wrong?”

 

Logan shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. “I might have…gotten into an argument…with my son…”

 

Patton gasped. Logan nodded and frowned as he continued to rub his neck.

 

“Oh dear…”

 

“My thoughts exactly.” Logan looked up at him. “I tried talking to him earlier but, uh, that didn’t necessarily pan out well…”

 

Patton frowned and gently pat Logan’s shoulder. “I’m sorry about that.”

 

Logan shrugged again. “You wouldn’t-” Logan stopped himself and glanced down at the floor. “Do you have any advice on this sort of thing?”

 

“Oh! Well, not really, I’m afraid. I usually let Roman cool off if we get into an argument and just wait for him to talk to me again.”

 

“What if…” Logan let out a sigh. “What if he  _ doesn’t _ talk to me again?”

 

“Logan, I’m sure Virgil won’t be mad at you forever. He’s  _ bound _ to talk to you again.”

 

“Eeeeehhhh, you don’t know Virgil.”

 

Patton raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

 

“He can hold grudges. When he was seven, he refused to talk to me until I got him a jack skellington plushie.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah. And I didn’t believe him until he went two months without talking to me.” Patton’s jaw dropped. “Yeah…you see my concern, yes?” Patton nodded.

 

“Well, I mean, Roman’s never done  _ that _ . Then again, I don’t think he  _ could _ . Really, the longest he went without talking to me was a week.” Logan leaned against the counter and set his head down. “Listen, I’m not sure if I can help but maybe if I knew more, I could at least get an idea-”

 

Logan’s groan interrupted Patton. He looked up. “Yeah, about that…”

 

“Oh no.”

 

Logan straightened himself and avoided eye contact. “I…may have overreacted with him…”

 

“Uhuh.”

 

“And I may have jumped to conclusions…”

 

“Okay…”

 

“And I may have gotten angry over nothing…”

 

“Right.”

 

Logan sighed and looked at Patton. “He told me a friend had invited him out and I took it as an invitation for a date and…well, he said it wasn’t but I wouldn’t believe him…”

 

“Oh, I see. You’re overprotective then.”

 

Logan pursed his lips. “I…wouldn’t call it that…”

 

“You are.” Logan narrowed his eyes at Patton, who laughed. “Yeah, you really  _ are _ overprotective.”

 

“Am I wrong for being so?”

 

Patton shook his head. “No. It makes sense that you would be since he’s your only kid-”

 

“So, it’s justified, then?” Patton didn’t say anything but instead, shrugged. “So, I’m a bad father, then?”

 

“No, no! I wouldn’t say that! It’s just…” Patton looked away for a moment as he thought of his words. “Listen, I don’t have kids - probably never will. Roman is about as close as I’ll get to having one, maybe, and really, I just let him be and give him advice when he needs it.” Patton grabbed Logan’s shoulders. “You’re not a bad dad. I just think you need to learn to be a little more…open, I guess? That’s not really the right word but-”

 

“No, no, that works. So, what do you suggest I do?”

 

Patton thought for a moment.

 

“Why don’t you write him a note?”

 

“A note?”

 

“I mean, if he won’t talk to you, writing would be the next best thing, right?”

 

Logan slowly nodded. “What do I tell him?”

 

“That you’re sorry? That’s what I would do. Really though, you could technically write whatever you want as long as you’re being sincere about it.”

 

“...alright.”

 

Patton smiled. “Now that that’s sort of dealt with, I have a question to ask.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“How were the pastries?”

 

“Oh, the pastries! They were delightful. Virgil really loved the guava pastries.”

 

“That’s great! Any others he liked?”

 

“He thought the others were alright. He really seemed to like the guava, though.”

 

“Why don’t you take him some more? Oh! You could write him the note and leave a guava pastry or two with it!” Logan stared at Patton. “I mean, you don’t  _ have _ to do that-”

 

“No, I will. That’s a great idea, actually. You wouldn’t happen to have a pen and paper, would you?”

 

“Yeah, I do! Be right back!”

 

Patton rushed to the back room and searched for a paper and pen. As he walked out, he accidentally knocked over the painting. He gasped and Logan walked over and picked it up for him. He frowned as he saw it.

 

“Sorry, I know it’s bad! It’s not quite finished yet-”

 

“No, no! It’s not bad at all.” Logan held the painting out to Patton. “I just didn’t know you painted.”

 

Patton took it and laughed. “Yeah. I, uh, I’m not the best but it’s certainly fun.” Logan stared at the painting again.

 

“I’m sorry, not the best?”

 

Patton blushed and turned the painting around. “I-I’m not…”

 

“I don’t believe you.”

 

Patton looked down and didn’t notice Logan’s smile.

 

“I’ll take these.” Logan grabbed the paper and pen from Patton. Patton immediately walked into the back room and did his best not to scream. He ran a hand over his face and sighed.

 

_ On no, this is not happening to me. Not here, not now. _

 

Patton walked out and saw Logan sitting at one of the tables. Patton grabbed a bag and placed two guava pastries in it. He then walked over to Logan and handed him the bag. Logan smiled and looked up at him.

 

“Thank you.”

 

“You’re welcome.”

 

Logan motioned to the seat beside him. “Care to join me?”

 

Patton laughed. “Sure, if you’d like.” Patton grabbed the chair and was about to sit down when Logan stopped him.

 

“If it’s not too much to ask, I was curious to see your painting techniques.”

 

“Uh, you sure? I mean, I  _ could _ , but-”

 

“Sure, why not? Of course, if you don’t want to-”

 

“No, no. I’ll go get a canvas and paints.”

 

Logan grinned and Patton did his best not to focus on him. When Patton returned with the paints and canvas, Logan was scribbling away on the paper. Patton set the materials down beside him and sat down. Logan looked up.

 

“So, I get the privilege of seeing the mind at work, huh?”

 

Patton giggled and gently punched Logan’s arm.

 

“If you judge my painting, I judge your note.”

 

Logan gasped and held the note to his chest. The two then laughed.

 

“I promise you I will do no such thing. I want you to feel as comfortable as possible while painting. Do you need me to sit further away or-”

 

“No, no! Where you’re sitting is fine.” Patton turned to his canvas. “I guess now we just get this started.”


	22. Chapter 22

As Virgil reached the front door, he heard the sound of a plate crash on the floor. He immediately ran inside and crashed right into Ethan as he entered the kitchen. The two fell and landed with a  _ thud _ on the ground.

 

_ Well, what a great welcome home… _

 

Virgil slowly got off of Ethan, whose face was red.

 

“Ethan, what the hell happened?” Virgil asked as he saw the broken plate near the fridge.

 

“I-I dropped it by accid-dent,” Ethan stuttered as he shifted away from Virgil.

 

“I can see that.” Virgil stood up. “Don’t move.” He walked over to the storage closet in the hall and got the broom. He walked back into the kitchen to see Ethan struggling to get up. Virgil grabbed his hand and pulled him up. When he let go, he looked at his hand to see that it was covered in blood. He glanced back at Ethan’s hand to see that it was bloody, too. Virgil set the broom aside and took Ethan by the arm as he took him to the bathroom.

 

The light flickered as Virgil turned it on.

 

_ I could’ve sworn we just fixed you… _

 

Virgil opened the sink drawers and found the gauze. He turned the sink on and motioned for Ethan to rinse his hands. Ethan did so and immediately hissed as the water hit his cuts. He rubbed his hands and hissed louder as he pulled his hands away from the water. Ethan stared at his hand.

 

“I think…a piece got stuck-”

 

“Let me see.”

 

Virgil gently took Ethan’s hands and looked them over. He was right - a very small piece of the plate had managed to lodge itself in the palm of his right hand. Virgil opened the sink drawers again and found a small pair of tweezers.

 

_ This should work… _

 

Virgil grabbed the piece with the tweezers and plucked it out. Ethan hissed a bit and once he saw a bit of blood seep through, he put his hands under the water. Virgil threw the piece away and placed the tweezers back in the drawer.

 

“Ethan, what were you trying to do?”

 

“I was gonna grab leftovers…”

 

“Oh.”

 

Virgil turned the water off and took hold of Ethan’s hands. He grabbed the gauze and wrapped it around Ethan’s hands. Virgil glanced up at Ethan and saw his face was still red.

 

“You alright, Ethan?”

 

Ethan nodded. “Sorry, I tend to just…get red easily, I guess.”

 

Virgil wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth but at the same time, he wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

 

Once Virgil finished patching him up, the two walked out of the bathroom. Virgil entered the kitchen and gestured for Ethan to stay away. Ethan promptly sat on the couch and watched. Virgil grabbed the broom and carefully swept up the pieces. As he threw them away, he looked back at Ethan, who sat watching behind the couch.

 

“What?”

 

Ethan didn’t say anything. He turned away and adjusted his position on the couch.

 

_ All that for leftovers… _

 

Virgil opened the fridge and saw the box of chinese food sitting by itself. He grabbed it and glanced at Ethan again.

 

_ Why didn’t he just heat it up in the box? _

 

Virgil glanced back at Ethan and debated asking but decided against it and just heated the leftovers on a separate plate. Virgil heard the couch shift and Ethan’s soft footsteps approach him.

 

“Oh…you  _ did  _ heat them up in a plate…”

 

Virgil shrugged and hopped up onto the counter. Ethan looked up at Virgil.

 

“Do you-” Ethan stopped himself and stared at the microwave.

 

“Do I what?” Virgil asked. Ethan shook his head.

 

“Forget about it, it was a stupid question.”

 

Virgil frowned. “Ethan, just ask.” Ethan shook his head. “Ethan, if you’re gonna be like th-”

 

“Do you still hate me?”

 

Virgil didn’t answer right away. Truth be told, he was slightly taken aback by the question.

 

If Ethan had asked him before this event had gone down, he would’ve said yes in a heartbeat. Not to say that this situation had made him hate Ethan less, but he couldn’t just say yes immediately after he asked and expect everything to be okay afterward.

 

“I don’t know, Ethan…I don’t know how to feel about a lot of things right now and this is one of them.”

 

The microwave beeped. Virgil took the plate out and handed it to Ethan.

 

“Are you going to be able to eat on your own?”

 

Ethan nodded and made his way over to the couch. Virgil walked past him and into his room where he was met with a bag on his bed. He walked closer and saw a note under the bag. He grabbed the note and opened it up. It read:

 

**_To Virgil:_ **

 

**_I am sorry for our argument yesterday. I may have overreacted and I can see that now. You know I’m not the best with words,_ ** **_ironically_ ** **_, but I had a feeling you wouldn’t want to see me when you got home so I wrote you this note in hopes that it would somehow be the same._ **

 

**_I don’t expect you to forgive me - not right away at least - nor do I expect you to instantaneously begin talking to me again. The only thing I should expect from you is an empty bag in the trash when I come back home. Enclosed in said bag will be the guava pastries you told me you had liked from Patton’s bakery. I hope you can enjoy them._ **

 

**_Sincerely,_ **

**** ~~**_Logan_ ** ~~ **_Dad_ **

 

Virgil smiled as he set down the note and opened the bag. He wasn’t sure what he had expected other than what was promised to him. Regardless, he sat down on his bed and took a bite from one of the pastries.

 

_ Thanks, dad. I’ll talk to you soon… _


	23. Chapter 23

Roman relaxed as he opened his bedroom window. Maybe it had been the stuffiness of the room or maybe it had been his stress or maybe, just maybe, he had heard a knock on his window but for some reason, he felt at ease with the window open. He wasn’t sure what that said about himself but he didn’t want to think too hard on it.

 

Just as Roman was about to walk away from his window he heard a bird chirp. He quickly spun around and gasped as he saw a tree swallow perched on his windowsill.

 

“Well, hello there,” he whispered as he knelt down to admire it. “What’s a pretty bird like you doing here?” The bird chirped and fluffed its feathers.

 

Roman smiled and slowly extended his hand out to the swallow. It didn’t react at first, maybe because it hadn’t seen Roman’s hand, but Roman wasn’t discouraged. He slowly brought his hand in front of the bird and whistled. This time the swallow reacted and chirped happily as it hopped into Roman’s hand. Roman could barely contain his excitement as he brought the bird close to him.

 

“Cool bird.”

 

Roman nearly jumped as he turned around to see Remy sitting on his bed.

 

“Remy?! What are you doing here?”

 

Remy’s eyebrows knit together as he stared at Roman. “I’ve been here the entire time? You literally called me up here a few minutes ago?”

 

“Oh…right. How could I have forgotten?”

 

Remy shrugged. Roman turned his attention back to the bird.

 

“You’re a pretty little thing, aren’t you?”

 

“Yeah, I am.”

 

Roman rolled his eyes. “I wasn’t asking you, Remy.”

 

“I didn’t say anything.”

 

“What do you mean you didn’t say anything? I literally  _ just _ heard you respond to me.”

 

“No, no you didn’t. Also, I’m not in the room anymore.”

“What?” Roman turned around and saw that Remy had, in fact, disappeared. Possibly downstairs but the main point was that Remy wasn’t in the room anymore.

 

The swallow chirped again and Roman smiled as it fluffed its feathers again.

 

“Wonder what you were doing over here…”

 

The bird turned its head to the window and fluttered its wings as it chirped again. Roman hadn’t realized he had walked away from the windowsill. He walked back and set the bird down. The swallow chirped one last time before flying off. As Roman watched it go, he noticed a car pull up in his driveway. It didn’t look like a car he recognized.

 

_ Maybe they finally came back… _

 

Of course, that was only wishful thinking. Roman couldn’t remember the last time he had heard from them.

 

_ Maybe they left on purpose… _

 

Roman stared at the car and waited for someone to step out. When no one did, Roman called out to Remy.

 

“Remy, I know you hate it when I do this to you but could you go check who’s at the door?” Remy didn’t reply. “Remy?”

 

Roman looked down the hall and saw no one else in the house.

 

_ What the- _

 

The sound of a car door opening caught his attention. Roman walked back to the window and looked out. He nearly fell out of the window as he saw who it was.

 

“Virgil?!”

 

Said person looked up and smiled up at Roman. Roman swooned.

 

“Hey!” Virgil called out. “Hope I didn’t come too early!”

 

“No, of course not! Although, I didn’t know you were coming!”

 

Virgil shot him the same confused look Remy had earlier.

 

“I thought you invited me earlier? During lunch? You gave me your address and told me to stop by because you had something to tell me?”

 

_ Oh my god, I  _ **_did_ ** _?! _

 

“Oh! I guess I forgot, sorry! I’ll be right down!”

 

Roman ran downstairs and practically flung the door open. Virgil smiled as Roman walked up to him.

 

“So, I guess I’m not allowed in, huh?”

 

Roman laughed.

 

“No, it’s not that! It’s just a bit of a mess right now.”

 

“Hm. So, what did you want to tell me?”

 

“Oh nothing really, just that I lo-” Roman clamped a hand over his mouth.

 

_ What am I  _ **_doing_ ** _?! _

 

“Just that you what?”

 

Roman looked away, frowning. “Just that I, uh…I think you’re a great guy!” Roman looked up at Virgil. “Haha, yeah that’s it! I think you’re a great guy, Virgil.”

 

“Oh. Well, thanks. I think you’re pretty great, too.”

 

Roman’s heart soared when he heard those words.

 

“Really?” Virgil nodded. “Aw, Virgil, I-”

 

“Roman!” Remy shouted. Virgil and Roman turned to see him standing in the doorway, gently petting the swallow from before. “Cut the shit and just tell him you love him!”

 

Roman gasped and felt his face heat up as he looked away from Remy and avoided eye contact with Virgil. Virgil turned to him, confused.

 

“Wait, you…you  _ love _ me?”

 

“No, I- it’s not that- I just-” Roman ran a hand over his face and groaned. “Yes, Virgil. I do, in fact, love you…”

 

Virgil didn’t say anything at first. Roman was sure that Virgil would just get in his car and drive away with the intention of never seeing or speaking to him again. But Virgil did neither of those. Instead, he gently lifted Roman’s chin and leaned in for a kiss. Just as Roman was about to kiss back, the ground beneath him shook and he heard the sound of his ringtone in the distance.

  
  
  


 

Roman jolted awake and he felt his heart beat right out of his chest. He then felt around for his phone and rejected the call that was coming through. He set his phone down and heaved a sigh.

 

_ Of course…it’s always just a dream… _

 

Roman ran a hand over his face and immediately gasped as he looked down at his wet hand.

 

_ Oh my god, EW. I need to get this sweat off of me ASAP. _

 

Roman didn’t give it another thought. He immediately ran out of bed and hopped in the shower, disregarding everything else.

 

_ Ugh, I need to do something about all of this… _

 

What that something would be, Roman wasn’t sure of yet but he figured he’d be able to come up with something.

 

After his hour long shower, Roman walked back into his room and picked his phone back up. As he turned it on, he squinted at his screen and tried his best to lower his brightness. Once it was lowered, he read the time.

 

5:56 AM

 

_ Oh my god I took a shower at four in the morning, school starts in two hours and there’s no way I’m going to be able to go back to sleep and not be horrendously late for school. _

 

Roman sat on the edge of his bed and debated getting dressed. Eventually, he got tired in just sitting in his damp towel so he walked into his closet and put on his fluffy red robe. He then laid down on his bed and stared up at his ceiling.

 

_ Maybe one day I’ll be able to do that…granted, he might not kiss me back and Remy will  _ **_definitely_ ** _ not be there but still…I certainly can dream… _

 

**~~~~~~~~~~**

 

Despite his early awakening, Roman had never felt better.

 

He wasn’t sure if it had been the dream itself or the morning shower but Roman was certainly pleased about staying up through all of his classes and feeling a bit more energetic for once.

 

_ I wonder if today can get any better… _

 

“Hey, Roman.”

 

Roman felt his face heat up as he stared into his open locker.

 

_ Maybe it can… _

 

Roman gently shut it and smiled as he turned to Virgil.

 

“Hey, Virgil. What’s up?”

 

“About the chem thing…”

 

“Oh, yeah! Was your dad against it or-”

 

“No, no, we’re good, it’s fine. What day specifically did you want to do it on?”

 

“When’s the earliest you can help?”

 

“Tomorrow.”

 

_ Tomorrow?! _

 

“Unless if that doesn’t work for y-”

 

“No, no! It does! I can do tomorrow!”

 

Virgil stared at Roman and Roman could feel his face heat up more as he maintained eye contact with him. 

 

“Alright then. So, we’ll meet after school tomorrow and walk to the cafe?”

 

Roman nodded. “And then the library, if the cafe doesn’t work out.”

 

“Alright, cool.” Roman looked up to see Virgil smiling. “See you tomorrow, then.”

 

“See ya tomorrow.”

 

Virgil walked away and Roman waited until he was gone to let out a squeal.

 

_ Yes! Things are finally happening! This day is getting better! _

 

Roman grinned as he reopened his locker and reached for one of his books. When he pulled it out, he noticed a slip of paper fall to the ground. He picked it up and shut his locker.

 

_ What’s this? _

 

As Roman unfolded the paper, his grin disappeared and he felt his joy slowly drain out of him.

 

_ I thought too soon… _


	24. Chapter 24

**** “Well, I can certainly see why you’re concerned,” Patton stated as he set the note down. Roman ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Are you going to report this note?”

 

Roman shook his head. “This sounds personal,” he said. “I don’t know who this is, though.”

 

“A new villain, that’s who.”

 

Roman nodded and glanced down at that note. He repeated the words in his head:

 

**_I know who you are. I know where you live. I can get close to you, and when I do, you won’t see it coming._ **

 

Roman frowned. “Who the hell is ‘COMSEN’?”

 

Patton shrugged and slid a tray of cookies over to Roman. “Do you think it stands for something?”

 

“I don’t know, maybe…but if it did, what would it stand for?” Roman grabbed a cookie and took a bite from it as he stared at the note. “Maybe it doesn’t stand for anything. Maybe it’s like one of the other villains who liked their name in all caps…”

 

Patton laughed. “For attention?” Roman nodded and took another bite from the cookie. Patton slid the note away from Roman, who followed it with his head. Patton laughed and stuffed the note in his pocket. “Listen, Ro, you need to focus on tomorrow.”

 

“But, Pat-”

 

“No buts. I need you to be ready for tomorrow. You said you’d want to be in the bakery tomorrow?”

 

Roman nodded. “And if that doesn’t work, then the library. And if  _ that _ doesn’t work, then, well, my place.”

 

Patton grinned. “Well, I’m assuming you’d want the third option to happen, right?”

 

Roman blushed and shook his head. “Padre, my house is a  _ mess _ , there’s like  _ no food _ , I couldn’t  _ imagine _ him anywhere near my room- There’s a reason the third option is the  _ third _ option.”

 

“I see.” Roman took another cookie and nibbled on it. Patton gently pat Roman’s back. “So, what’s the plan then?”

 

“Going over stoichiometry, studying for my test, that’s about it.”

 

“And when do you think you’ll be done?”

 

Roman shrugged. “I don’t think it’ll be a while. Maybe an hour or two.”

 

“Oh. Nothing after, huh?”

 

Roman shook his head. “I might have to take him home but that’s about it.”

 

“Not very thrilling for a first date.”

 

“I mean, it’s not supposed to be. If it were a date, I would’ve gone straight home and prepared a picnic or something. I wouldn’t even have opened the note until after the date and then worried about it after…” Roman frowned. “I wonder who put the note in my locker.”

 

“Well, it must’ve been a student, right?”

 

Roman nodded. “Yeah. I don’t see why one of the staff would-”

 

“Unless if they paid them to. Or bribed.”

 

“Oh damn…that’s right…”

 

Roman ate his cookie and stared out the bakery window. He saw a few cars pass by and a group of kids passed by on skateboards.

 

“Well, I can at least narrow it down a lot. Not many people know  _ my _ specific locker, despite how many kids tend to crowd that hallway…and I could probably categorize them from most to likely to have something against me-”

 

“Wouldn’t you categorize it by people who do and don’t know you very well?” Patton took out the note and straightened it out. “I mean, it  _ does _ say “I can get close to you”.”

 

“But that could be any of them. None of them know me that well.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Roman took another cookie and lifted the note. The writing on the note didn’t look familiar to Roman.

 

_ I wonder if there are any fingerprints on this… _

 

He decided it’d be best to check that at home. He set the note back down and bit into the cookie.

 

“Do you think they’ll reveal themselves?” Patton asked. “Like the last one did? Or just wait?”

 

“Well, if they’re just sending notes for now…I think they’d wait. How long is another question.”

 

_ I guess I’m just going to have to wait and see… _


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for making you guys wait so long for an update. I hope this makes up for it.

“COMSEN?” Virgil asked.

 

“I had to come up with it on a whim,” Logan replied, not looking up from his meticulous handiwork on Virgil’s phone.

 

“Yeah, I can tell. What’s it stand for?”

 

“You’re going to roll your eyes if I tell you.”

 

“How hard?”

 

“It’ll give you a headache.”

 

“Oh geez, that bad. Now I  _ have _ to hear this.”

 

Logan frowned and let out a sigh. “Common Sense.”

 

Virgil didn’t reply immediately and Logan assumed that he was currently rolling his eyes.

 

“Wow, that  _ did _ cause a headache.”

 

“I warned you.”

 

“I mean, look, you’ll certainly stump them, I’ll give you that much.” Logan didn’t say anything. Virgil pulled up a chair and sat beside Logan. “How long have you been sitting hunched over?”

 

“Two hours, probably.”

 

“And it’s  _ not  _ killing you?”

 

“It is. But determination is helping me get over it.”

 

Virgil laughed. “And then you wonder why  _ I’m _ like this…”

 

“Do as I say, Virgil, not as I do.”

 

“It’s a bit too late for that, don’t you think?”

 

Logan didn’t reply to that. Instead, he asked, “Where’s Ethan?”

 

Virgil got up and opened Logan’s door. He glanced out far enough to see Ethan sitting on the couch with Rosie wrapped around his arm as he gently stroked her head. Virgil shut the door and sat back down.

 

“He hasn’t moved. And he’s watching tv, so we don’t have anything to worry about.”

 

Logan hummed in response and pointed to the new glass screen he had made earlier. Virgil grabbed it and gingerly handed it to Logan. He watched as Logan carefully attached the screen to his phone. Once it was set in place, Logan set his tools down and stretched. Virgil stared at him wide eyed as he heard the various cracks from his back and fingers.

 

“And here I was thinking  _ I _ had back problems.”

 

Logan rolled his eyes and handed Virgil his phone. “This one should be harder to crack. If it somehow  _ does _ crack, just know it would need the same amount of force a human bone would need to break.”

 

Virgil stared at his phone in awe. “Thanks dad.”

 

“Of course. I also took the liberty in upgrading a few parts of your phone so now it is  _ much _ faster, your photo quality is better and your phone now has a darkness setting. You’re welcome.”

 

Virgil stared at Logan in awe. “You…you didn’t have to do that. Thank you.”

 

Logan shrugged. Virgil could see the smug smirk on his face but Logan turned around before he could see it fully.

 

Virgil stood up and shoved his phone in his pocket. “So, I guess I’m prepared for tomorrow.” Virgil glanced up to see Logan frown.

 

“Right…”

 

“Please don’t tell me you’re still-”

 

“No, no. I already told you I had realized I had overreacted and jumped to conclusions. We don’t need to have this conversation again.” Virgil nodded. “Just please promise to call me when you’re done.”

 

“Yeah, of course-”

 

Logan turned to face Virgil. “I  _ better _ receive a call from you.” Virgil nodded again. “I’ll know that you actively  _ chose  _ not to if you don’t since now your phone won’t lag horrendously anymore. That also means I’ll know if you’re ignoring me via text messaging, too.”

 

  
“Yeah, okay dad. I get it. Are you going to be tracking my every move, too?”

 

Logan shook his head. “No, that won’t be necessary. I trust you.”

 

Virgil stared at Logan and for a split second, he could’ve sworn that he saw him grin. But the second he blinked, Logan had returned to his default straight face. Virgil smiled a bit.

 

“Thanks dad. It’s good knowing that you do.”

 

Virgil opened Logan’s door and waved at him before walking out. He heard Logan laugh as his door shut and he almost laughed along with him. Almost.

 

When Virgil entered the living room, Ethan was nowhere to be found. Virgil stood in the middle of the living room and glanced around. There was no sign of Rosie or Ethan.

 

_ Maybe they went into the room, _ he thought.

 

He slowly made his way over to Ethan’s room and held his breath. He couldn’t hear any movement inside. Virgil debated opening the door but he felt that he had already opened it too many times so, he walked back to the living room.

 

Virgil sat down on the couch and debated turning the tv back on.

 

_ Is there really anything I want to watch right now? _

 

When an answer didn’t come to mind, Virgil pulled out his phone and curled up on one end of the couch. He was immediately pleased with how fast his apps loaded.

 

_ Well shit…talk about an upgrade. _

 

Of course, Virgil couldn’t call it a great upgrade before opening up tumblr. Did he expect it to work? No, of course not. Tumblr was so shitty, he doubted even Logan could fix it. He was proven right when he saw none of the gifs on his dashboard would load.

 

_ Yeah, I thought so. _

 

Even so, he continued scrolling through.

 

After a while, he heard soft shuffling behind him. He glanced behind him to see Ethan creeping into the living room. He held Rosie close to his chest under his jacket, possibly to hide her from Logan.

 

“It’s just me, you know,” Virgil said. “You don’t have to hide her yet.”

 

Ethan immediately walked over and sat down on the other end of the couch. Rosie coiled herself around Ethan’s neck.

 

“You care a lot about Rosie, huh?”

 

Ethan nodded. “She’s the only thing I have for comfort…” Ethan gently stroked Rosie’s head and smiled softly.   
  


Virgil watched as Rosie stuck her tongue out. He smiled a bit before going back to his phone and endlessly scrolling through his unloaded dashboard.


	26. Chapter 26

Roman fidgeted with his sweater as he leaned against the front gate. Was he nervous? Of course. But was he going to let it get in the way of studying? Yes, yes he was.

 

_ For someone who’s just sooo good in drama, I can’t even pretend to act differently around him… _

 

Roman glanced up for the hundredth time and watched the kids pass by him. A few waved at him. A few others ran right past him without a care in the world. Roman watched after them with a smile.

 

“Hey,” he heard Virgil say. Roman stood up and smiled.

 

“Hey!”

 

Virgil adjusted the strap to his satchel and looked up at Roman. “Sorry if I kept you waiting.”

 

“Oh, it’s alright! I didn’t wait for long, anyway.”

 

That was a lie. Roman had been waiting for at least 15 minutes but he didn’t want to make Virgil feel bad.

 

“Anyway, should we go?”

 

Roman nodded and the two made their way to the bakery. Their walk was silent. If you would’ve asked Roman why, he probably would have told you it was because he didn’t have anything to say to Virgil rather than the obvious truth - he didn’t want to make things any more awkward than they had to be.

 

_ Calm down…Just keep your cool, everything’ll be fine. _

 

As the two reached the block before the bakery, Roman gasped.

 

“Woah, that’s a long line…” Virgil murmured. Roman nodded as his eyes followed the line down to the entrance of the bakery.

 

“There’s no  _ way _ we could study there…”

 

“There’s no way we’d even get  _ in _ …”

 

“Actually, there is.”

 

Roman started walking, prompting Virgil to follow. Roman frowned as he noticed the line slowly spill out onto the road.

 

_ Great…I guess that means we’ll have to avoid cars too… _

 

As Roman walked out on the road, he instinctively grabbed Virgil’s arm and gently pulled him along past all of the bitter, whiny customers in line. A few people looked back and stared at the two but Roman didn’t notice them.

 

By the time the two made it back on the sidewalk, everyone in line had stopped their bickering and stared at the two. Virgil was keenly aware of the stares and tried to tell Roman but he figured Roman was too busy worrying about getting into the bakery.

 

Roman heard the distant rumble of a car driving down the road. He immediately pulled Virgil and himself onto the sidewalk just as a car drove past them. Roman stared after the car, frowning.

 

“Roman?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“...You can let go of me now.”

 

Roman gasped and let go of Virgil. Virgil shoved his hands in his pockets.

 

“Sorry! I-”

 

Virgil held a hand up, stopping Roman. “Don’t. Let’s just see if we can get in, okay?”

 

Roman nodded and led Virgil to the back of the building. Virgil could see Roman’s face darkening but he didn’t mention it to him. He knew he was embarrassed enough already.

 

Roman spotted the familiar outline of the back door. All of the buildings including Patton’s bakery had their back doors painted the same color as the back of the building (this was due to some of the prior villains trying to plant bombs inside each building to catch Roman’s attention but Roman had managed to prevent that from happening). He stood in front of the door and looked around for the handle.

 

_ Where is it? I know we didn’t remove it… _

 

Roman placed his hand on the door and grinned as he gripped the door handle. With a slow turn and hard push, the door swung open. Virgil stared into what looked like the back room with wide eyes.

 

“Huh,” was all he said before he walked in. Roman followed after and made sure the door clicked as it shut. The two carefully walked beside the empty carts, bags of flour, and various employees running around before they reached the doorway of the back room leading into the main room of the bakery. Roman gasped as he looked out into the sea of people that had flooded the main room. The few that managed to catch a seat at the tables were chatting and eating their pastries as peacefully as they could but that proved difficult with the fifty people standing around them, clearly annoyed with the small space they were occupying.

 

“When did it get this full?” Roman asked aloud as he looked for Patton. He didn’t have to look far - Patton stood at the counter, ringing customers up. Roman’s eyes widened as he saw Remy beside him at the next register. “Wow, if Remy’s here, then that means  _ all _ of his employees are here too…”

 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen this place full…”

 

“I don’t think I have, either…”

 

An employee walked past the two and over to Patton who had finished ringing a customer. The employee tapped his shoulder and whispered something in his ear. Patton’s face lit up and Roman saw him mouth ‘thank you’ to them. The employee and Patton switched places and Patton waved at the two. Roman waved back. Virgil did a small nod.

 

Patton grabbed a brown bag and walked over to the two. Roman and Virgil exchanged glances. Patton placed the bag in Roman’s hands.

 

“Hey kiddo!” he chirped. “Sorry about this-”

 

“No, it’s fine! Don’t worry about it.” Roman opened the bag and looked in. “Cookies, muffins…guava pastries?”

 

Virgil gasped. “I love guava pastries…”

 

Roman’s eyes flickered up at Patton who sported a warm smile. Roman knew better, though.

 

“Thanks, Padre.”

 

“Of course! Now go! I don’t want either of you accidentally getting run over and hurt!” Patton gently pushed them towards the back door. “Please be safe!”

 

“We will, Padre! Don’t worry!”

 

Virgil opened the door and motioned for Roman to walk out first. Roman did and Virgil waved at Patton before closing the door behind him.

 

“So, to the library?” Virgil asked. Roman nodded.

 

_ Let’s hope it’s not full there too… _

 

The sound of bickering customers was soon replaced by the sound of Roman and Virgil’s footsteps. Roman was relieved to find that the other side of town was much quieter than the bakery’s side.

 

_ Maybe that’s why they built the library over here… _

 

Roman immediately felt stupid.

 

_ Of course that’s why they built the library over here. Geez Roman, how stupid- _

 

“Roman?” Roman looked over at Virgil who was five feet ahead of him. “You alright?”

 

“Yeah, of course.” Virgil frowned, obviously unconvinced. “Why?”

 

“Well, I mean, you stopped walking.”

 

Roman walked up to Virgil. “I’m fine, Virgil.”

 

Virgil stared down at Roman, still frowning. From what Roman could tell, Virgil was squinting at him. Virgil eventually shrugged and walked away from Roman. Roman could feel his cheeks heat up as he followed Virgil.

 

Maybe he was letting his emotions get the better of him. It wouldn’t be the first time. Or maybe he just spent too much time worrying about everything. It also wouldn’t be the first time for that, either. Or maybe, just maybe, he was getting a little annoyed with the fact that he wasn’t that close to Virgil. Not that he would really admit it. Hell, he probably hadn’t even realized it yet.

 

Somehow, Roman managed to stay at least three feet behind Virgil. Normally that wouldn’t have bothered him but he could vaguely see the library a few blocks ahead of him and the knight in him wanted to be chivalrous and open the door for Virgil. Was it silly? Yes, yes it was. He still wanted to do it, though.

 

“Hey, I think I see something on the door of the library,” Virgil said, glancing back at Roman. Roman still couldn’t see his eyes but he could tell he looked slightly annoyed.

 

“You do?” Roman asked as he ran past Virgil. He heard Virgil’s pace quicken.

 

“Is it a note?”

 

_ A note? _

 

Roman squinted and made out a white square on the door. Realistically, the square could have been anything but now that Virgil had asked if it was a note, it  _ did _ look like it had something written on it.

 

_ Oh no. No no no, please don’t- _

 

Roman stopped in his tracks as soon as he was close enough to read it. He frowned.

 

_ Shit. _

 

“Library closed today due to pipes bursting,” Virgil read aloud as he stood beside Roman. “Well, shit…”

 

Roman let out a frustrated sigh and turned to Virgil. He noticed he was smirking. Smirking? Roman looked again. No, it was a frown. Virgil was frowning.

 

“So, the library’s closed and the bakery’s full…” Virgil turned to Roman, whose eyes widened.

 

“That means we’ll have to go to my place…” His heart nearly stopped as he said the words. It seemed like fate was against him today. “I guess I’ll call us an Uber then…”

 

**~~~~~~~~~~**

 

Virgil started up at Roman’s house in awe. Sure, he had imagined Roman’s house was lavish and probably a mansion considering his hero status but he hadn’t imagined it to look so…normal. Yeah, the thought was ridiculous since Roman’s house was  _ much _ nicer than any house in the town but it almost bore a resemblance to his own house. Speaking of which, Virgil was also shocked to know just how  _ close _ they lived near each other.

 

_ One wrong turn on the road and he’ll find me… _

 

Virgil cast the thought aside and walked up to Roman’s door where he found Roman still unlocking it.

 

“You need help?” he asked.

 

“No, I can handle this, thank you very much.”

 

Had it been any other person, Virgil would have probably laughed. But because it was Roman, he had to remind himself of the plan.

 

When he heard the click, Roman pushed the door open with ease and the two walked in. Virgil closed the door behind him and immediately was hit with the aroma of reheated pizza and leftover lasagna. Roman must have smelled it too because Virgil noticed him open up the two windows beside the front door and a third window in the kitchen.

 

_ I guess we’re sitting here _ …

 

Virgil sat on the couch and immediately sank into it.

 

“Woah,” he said as he saw Roman walked back into the living room. Roman gasped.

 

“Oh my god, are you okay?” he asked. Virgil held a thumbs up.

 

“My couch doesn’t do this.” Virgil did his best to sit up. “Your couch has…character, I guess you could say.”

 

Roman laughed and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah…I may or may not love that couch.”

 

“I can tell.”

 

Roman took a seat next to Virgil and set the bag of pastries down on the round coffee table before them. He then pulled his chemistry book out of his bag and set it out before him.

 

“So…I have a test next week on this…” Roman flipped through at least half the book before finally landing on the page about stoichiometry. “This isn’t the only thing on it but the teacher told us it was the main thing.”

 

Virgil slid the book closer to him and skimmed over the text on the page. He glanced down at the practice problems and pointed at them. “You have to do these? Or…?”

 

Roman shook his head. “We did those in class. What we have to do is this.” Roman dug through his bag and pulled out a worksheet from his notebook. “We didn’t have time to do it together in class but I didn’t understand how to do it, anyway. Am I right so far?”

 

Virgil’s eyes scanned the page. Roman’s writing was so  _ neat _ . Virgil wasn’t sure if he’d ever seen a guy’s writing this neat besides Logan’s, and his writing was hard to read at times.

 

“This looks right to me.” Virgil set the paper down. He heard Roman let out a sigh of relief. “What were the other things on the test? Do you know?”

 

Roman nodded and flipped through the book again. Virgil frowned as he saw the page Roman flipped to.

 

“Okay, this one’s going to take a while…”

 

“Seriously?!”

 

Virgil nodded. “I hated learning this topic. Took me forever to actually grasp it. Hopefully, if I teach it to you right, you’ll be able to get it faster than I did.”

 

“Well then…let’s get started.”

  
  


Neither Virgil or Roman could have guessed that it would have taken them so long to finish with his chemistry homework but before either of them knew it, Logan was calling.

 

“Dad?”

 

“Virgil, I don’t mean to sound pushy but are you almost done?” Logan asked. “Dinner’s almost ready…”

 

_ Dinner’s almost ready?! _

 

Virgil pulled his phone away from his face and saw the time: 6:50 PM.

 

“Holy sh- Dad, I’m sorry. Yeah, we’re pretty much done.”

 

“Good. Send me his address and I can come pick you up.”

 

“Tell him I can take you home,” Roman said. Virgil covered the microphone on his phone and looked over at him.

 

“What? No, I don’t-”

 

“No, seriously, tell him.”

 

“No, Roman. My dad wouldn’t be too comfortable with you taking me home.”

 

“Virgil?” Logan asked.

 

“Yeah, I’m right here dad. I’ll send you the address right now.”

 

“Alright. See you soon.”

 

“Bye.”

 

Virgil hung up and began typing out Roman’s address to Logan.

 

“Are you  _ sure _ -”

 

Virgil held a hand up to silence Roman.

 

“Trust me, it took me a while to convince him to let me do this. There is no way I have the skills to convince him in less than five minutes.”

 

Roman sighed. “Alright, I guess.” He closed his chemistry book and shoved his notebook into his bag. “Thanks for doing this.”

 

“It’s whatever.”

 

Roman heard the swoosh sound Virgil’s phone made and assumed he had sent the address.

 

“So…” Virgil glanced up at Roman. “Where exactly do you live?” Virgil’s eyebrow raised. “Sorry, I’m just curious. I usually see you walk to school so I’m assuming you live close enough to the school to walk.”

 

_ A lie won’t hurt him… _

 

“...Yeah, I do. It’s not as nice as your place, though, so I’m not going to tell you.”

 

Roman gasped. “What? Are you embarrassed about your place?” Virgil didn’t say anything. Roman laughed. “Aw, Virgil, come on. You don’t have to be. I didn’t always have this place, you know.”

 

Virgil looked shocked. “You didn’t?”

 

Roman shook his head, mildly surprised at his reaction. “I used to live in an apartment in another town. Then my parents moved here and, well, you know the rest…”

 

“Where are your parents?”

 

Roman didn’t answer immediately. His smile had faltered a bit but he managed to regain it.

 

_ What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him… _

 

“Well, they travel a lot for work so they’re never really here.”

 

“Oh, I see.”

 

Virgil’s phone buzzed and he looked to see a text from Logan. He picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder.

 

“My dad’s here.

 

“Yeah, I figured. I’ll walk you out.”

 

_ Damn. _

 

The two walked out to see the sun setting. Roman noticed a dark blue sedan waiting in front of the driveway.

 

“Well, I guess that’s your dad.” Virgil nodded. “Thanks again, Virgil. I appreciate the help.”

 

“No problem.”

 

And with that, Virgil walked over to the car and gave Roman a backhand wave before entering the car. Roman watched as the car drove off down the road and waited until it disappeared from sight to walk back inside. He shut the door behind him and let out a sigh.

 

_ Damn, I should’ve watched them from upstairs…then I could’ve seen where they lived… _

 

Roman walked up to his window and looked out. The blue sedan was gone.

 

_ Oh well, there’s always next time. _


	27. Chapter 27

The rain pelted down on Ethan. He shivered as he walked down the road and bit his lip to stop himself from screaming. Not that anyone would hear him, though.

 

Ethan’s torn yellow sweater was of little use to him now. It was completely soaked through and he was sure he could feel the raindrops streaming down his back, which only made him shiver more.

 

Ethan glanced around, frowning. The memories came flooding back. As he peered through every broken house, he could almost see the empty hearts living in them. But Ethan knew better. He knew that these houses and this street had been abandoned for years. He knew that those empty hearts didn’t exist anymore, if at all. He knew that those houses couldn’t save him from the rain. And although there had been a little part of him that had hoped they could, he reminded himself that the rain would always come back anyway.

 

The sound of a car horn pulled him out of his thoughts. Ethan turned around and covered his eyes, bracing himself. He heard the car horn again and he waited.

 

Instead of feeling the wet road beneath him, he felt a sudden warmth surround him. Ethan slowly opened his eyes and stared at his front door.

 

_ …what? _

 

“So, you came crawling back…”

 

Ethan felt his heart stop.

 

_ No… _

 

“I knew you would. You always do.”

 

Ethan heard the slam of the glass bottle on the coffee table. The couch groaned as she stood up.

 

“I didn’t think you’d make it back this time, though. Honestly, I was hoping you wouldn’t…”

 

Ethan remembered his clenched fists, grit teeth, and violent trembling. He remembered how hot his face had felt and how much his throat had hurt and how  _ ashamed _ he had felt. But Ethan knew better now.

 

“I know you can hear me, Ethan. You hear every word I say. And I know you’re internalizing those words and I know every one of them makes you want to scream at me. And I know that you  _ hate _ that I know.”

 

Ethan took a step towards his door.

 

“Where do you think you’re going? You don’t have anywhere to go. If you did, you wouldn’t be back here right now. You wouldn’t be standing there, drenched and trailing puddles behind you and into the house. You’re  _ going _ to clean that up, by the way. And if you don’t, you’ll be in  _ hell _ tomorrow.”

 

Ethan gripped the doorknob. He could see himself shaking but he wasn’t sure if it was from the anger or from the fear.

 

“Ethan, you get your hand off of that doorknob right now.”

 

Ethan twisted the handle and opened the door. In front of him was the open field. All he had to do was run out, run away, and never have to worry about her again.

 

“Oh no you don’t.”

 

The door slammed shut and Ethan heard her walking towards him. He instinctively turned around and opened his mouth to scream as he saw the faint silhouette of the wine bottle hovering over his head.

  
  
  


 

Ethan shot up and clutched his soaked shirt. His heart was beating wildly out of his chest and he let out a whimper as he struggled to breathe.

 

_ It was a dream…It was just a dream. _

 

Ethan inhaled deeply and held his breath. His heart thumped harder and before it felt like it could burst, he exhaled.

 

_ It’s fine…everything’s fine. She’s not here… _

 

His throat throbbed and he couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down his face. He bit his lip and sniffled.

 

**_I know you can hear me, Ethan. You hear every word I say._ **

 

Ethan placed a hand over his scar and felt more tears stream down his face.

 

**_And I know every one of them makes you want to scream at me._ **

 

Ethan’s eyes were starting to hurt from him wiping the tears away. He punched the bed and bit his lip harder.

 

**_And I know that you hate that I know._ **

 

The harder Ethan punched the bed, the harder it was for him to keep the noise down. His lip and throat throbbed, his knuckles were starting to bruise. He was sure he was about to lose it.

 

The knock that came on the door was unexpected, to say the least. Ethan stopped and looked up in the general direction of the door. His gaze was clouded by his tears and the moonlight streaming in from the window didn’t reach the door but he could barely make out the general shape of it.

 

A million questions raced through Ethan’s mind.

 

Who was at the door? Why were they up? How loud had he been? Did they  _ both _ know that he had been on the verge of a breakdown? What was going to happen now?

 

The questions would be answered by a second knock, accompanied by a faint, “Ethan?”

 

_ …Virgil? _

 

The door slowly opened and Ethan watched as Virgil leaned his head into the room. Ethan was unnerved by the fact that the moonlight couldn’t reach the door and he became keenly aware of how he must have looked to Virgil.

 

“Hey…” Virgil whispered. “Are you…uh…” Virgil’s head shifted and Ethan heard him sigh. “Do you need comfort?”

 

“Com-fort?” Ethan croaked.

 

Had this moment been different, Virgil would have taken the opportunity to mock him and Ethan would have vigorously attempted to brush it off and attack Virgil. But Ethan sensed that Virgil wouldn’t dare mock him in a moment like this and that he was genuinely offering help to him.

 

“Eth-”

 

“Yes.”

 

Virgil wordlessly slipped into the room and carefully shut the door behind him. He slowly approached Ethan and stood at the foot of the guest bed. A ray of moonlight landed on Virgil’s chest and Ethan could make out a familiar skeleton’s face on his shirt.

 

“Where’s Rosie?”

 

Ethan glanced around the room.

 

“She’s…somewhere around here…”

 

“Do you need her to calm you down?”

 

“I’d rather not…” Ethan sniffled and wiped his eyes. “Me being like this might stress her out…”

 

“Snakes get stressed?”

 

Ethan looked up at Virgil. He had moved closer to him so Ethan could make out Virgil’s confused look.

 

“...yeah, Virgil. They do.”

 

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t know that.” Virgil sat down beside Ethan. Ethan shifted a little further from Virgil and wrapped his arms around himself. “It’s safe to assume that you had a nightmare that involved something traumatic happening, right?” Ethan slowly nodded and stared down at the bed. “It cut off before it actually happened, right?” Ethan nodded again. “Yeah, they always do…oh, hi Rosie.”

 

Ethan looked over to see Virgil staring down at the ground. He leaned over and saw Rosie slowly slithering from under the bed. She coiled around herself and looked up at the two.

 

“You…you don’t keep her close to you?” Virgil asked.

 

“She’d get uncomfortable if she was constantly around me…y’know, too much body heat.”

 

Virgil nodded and stared at Rosie.

 

A silence settled in the room. It was strangely pleasant, not that Ethan would admit it out loud. He shifted back on the bed and gently rubbed his arms. Virgil turned to him.

 

“Wanna go outside?”

 

Ethan stared at him. “Wh…go outside? Right now?”

 

Virgil shrugged. “It’s a little stuffy in here and opening the window won’t help so I was going to go outside. I just wasn’t sure if you wanted to tag along.”

 

Rosie slowly slithered over to the bed. Ethan looked into her eyes and frowned slightly.

 

“No, I don’t want to…Thanks, though.”

 

Ethan leaned over and picked Rosie up. She coiled around his arms and stuck her tongue out. Ethan watched as Virgil walked out of the room.

 

_ This…this is a dream… _

 

Ethan looked down at Rosie, who seemed to be staring up at him with a look of annoyance in her eyes.

 

“I love you, Rosie.” Rosie slithered up his arm and wrapped herself around his shoulders. Ethan smiled and glanced out the window. He gasped as he saw Virgil walk up to the window and wave at him.

 

_ He actually went outside… _

 

Ethan slowly waved back. Virgil walked away from the window and disappeared.

 

_ This is some weird dream… _

 

Rosie stuck her tongue out. Ethan sighed.

 

_ Okay…I guess the entire time I’ve been here has been more or less like a dream… _

 

Ethan gently stroked Rosie’s head and stared out the window. He felt tempted to go outside and join Virgil but he resisted.

 

_ It wouldn’t make sense to go out there and join him… _

 

And yet the feeling wouldn’t leave. Ethan stood up and immediately sat back down. He stood back up and took a step towards the door. He took a step back and leaned against the bed.

 

_ Oh fuck it, I might as well… _

 

Ethan walked over to the door and placed his hand on the doorknob.

 

**_Where do you think you’re going?_ **

 

Ethan froze. 

 

**_Ethan, you get your hand off of that doorknob right now._ **

 

Ethan bolted out of the room. He flung the front door open and ran out into the field. He was almost about to run out to the middle of the field when he felt someone pull him back.

 

“Ethan?!”

 

Ethan stopped and looked up at Virgil.

 

“Dude, are you-”

 

Ethan cut Virgil off by hugging him. He buried his face into his chest and gripped the back of Virgil’s shirt. He felt Virgil wrap his arms around him.

 

_ I’m sorry… _

 

“Hey, it’s okay,” Virgil murmured. “You’re alright.”

 

Ethan’s grip loosened and he pulled away from Virgil. He then noticed Rosie coiled around his neck.

 

“Sorry…” Ethan gently removed Rosie from him, much to Rosie’s disappointment.

 

“Listen, it’s fine. How about we just sit in the field and stargaze?”

 

Ethan nodded and the two sat down. Rosie slithered down into the grass and coiled around herself. Virgil laid down in the grass and let out a sigh. He clasped his hands behind his head and stared up at the sky. Ethan tore his eyes away from Virgil and looked up into the sky.

 

The stars weren’t particularly bright but the moon seemed to shine a spotlight down on the three sitting below it. Ethan felt his heart relax and smiled a bit. He looked away and noticed Virgil staring at him.

 

“Do you feel better?”

 

Ethan slowly nodded. “I’m sorry for-”

 

“Don’t mention it, Ethan.” Virgil looked back up at the night sky. “Just know that all that matters is that you’re feeling better.”

 

Ethan noticed a faint smile on Virgil’s lips.

 

“You...care.”

 

“Hm?”

 

“You care…about me.”

 

Virgil’s smile disappeared. “Ethan-”

 

“Virgil, why?”

 

“...you’re asking why I seem to care?”

 

“Well, yeah! You…you  _ hate  _ me! And I hate  _ you _ ! Why…why do you act like you care? I’ve treated you like shit and here we are now in this  _ crazy _ situation and you and your dad have done nothing but be  _ nice _ to me - your dad  _ hates _ me! Right? He has to! Why are you guys being nice and acting like you-”

 

“Ethan!” Virgil sat up and glared at him. “Yeah, I  _ know _ you’ve treated me like shit. And yeah, I  _ know _ no one else in your life has ever given a fucking damn about you. And I  _ know _ the story that you told us in the beginning was a  _ fucking lie _ and everything you’ve ever told me was a fucking lie because I  _ know _ that all you ever  _ do _ is  _ lie _ .” Virgil looked away from him. “You know, a part of me was  _ willing  _ to forgive you…as stupid as that sounds. I was ready to just start over. All because of this-” Virgil motioned to him and Rosie, “-as  _ weird  _ as it sounded and as  _ crazy _ as it was, I actually thought I could start to  _ like  _ you…”

 

Ethan watched as Virgil ran a hand over his face.

 

_ Is he…is he being serious? _

 

“Don’t make me say something I’ll regret, Ethan.” Virgil looked over at him. “Prove me wrong. Redeem yourself. Be…be  _ better _ than this, Ethan… _ please _ ...”

 

Rosie slithered over to Virgil. Virgil held his hand out and she coiled around his arm.

 

“I’m sorry for sounding…harsh. You’ve probably had a fucked up childhood and I won’t ask about it because I don’t need to know about it…but if you’re going to let your past dictate who you are…”

 

Virgil’s words trailed off and he gently pat Rosie’s head. Rosie stuck out her tongue.

 

Ethan felt the tears streaming down his face again. He wiped his eyes and looked back up at the sky. There seemed to be fewer stars this time and the moon didn’t seem to shine as brightly as it had before but they were still there. Maybe that counted for something.

 

“You’re right…” Ethan looked back down. “I’m sorry…You’re right, I’m not used to someone looking after me or caring about where I am and what I’m doing…I’d like to start over too.”

 

Virgil didn’t say anything. Instead, he laid back down and gently pat the area beside him. Ethan scooted closer and laid down.

 

“Tonight’s been rough…” Ethan nodded in agreement. “I’m not going to school tomorrow. But I’m going to do something, and if you  _ truly _ want to start over, you’ll do this thing with me.”

 

“...what is it?”

 

“Do you trust me?”

 

Ethan stared at Virgil. He couldn’t see a trace of malice or mischief anywhere on Virgil’s face, which meant that he more than likely wasn’t planning anything.  Ethan moved his attention to Rosie. She seemed calm coiled around Virgil’s arm.

 

_ She’s only ever done that with two other people… _

 

“Yes, I trust you.”

 

Virgil’s face didn’t change. Ethan wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing.

 

“I’ll make sure not to break your trust, then.”


	28. Chapter 28

It took a lot to catch Logan off guard. Perhaps it was because he was always prepared. Or perhaps he had gotten so used to the drastic changes in his life that nothing seemed to phase him anymore.

 

At least, that’s what he thought.

 

It wasn’t until Logan had gotten up that morning to a humming Virgil making sandwiches in the kitchen that made him really question if he had woken up at all.

 

“Virgil?” Said person nodded his head in response. “I see you’re up.” Virgil nodded again. “...What exactly do you have planned for today?”

 

Logan watched as a smirk slowly formed on Virgil’s face. Virgil positioned himself so his back faced him.

 

“Nothing much, dad. I thought about going out for an… _outing_ , if you will.”

 

“ _Oh_? Sounds interesting.”

 

Of course, it was _more_ than interesting for Logan. Virgil had never _wanted_ to go out _willingly_ , being the hermit crab he was. And, as per usual, the only person Logan had to blame for that trait was himself, because Virgil vigorously rebelled against the “do as I say, not as I do” rule Logan had tried to establish years ago. Regardless, this was interesting news for Logan. Perhaps, dare he say, _exciting_ news.

 

Virgil chuckled and shrugged. “It’s whatever.”

 

“Am I allowed to join this _outing_ of yours?” Logan asked, smiling a bit.

 

“I’m afraid not, dad.”

 

Logan faked a dramatic gasp. “Oh, my heart…my feelings have been hurt, Virgil.”

 

Virgil didn’t say anything at first. Logan was sure he had gotten fed up with his fake acting.

 

“Dad, why don’t you hang out with Patton today?”

 

_Patton…_

 

Logan would be lying if he said he hadn’t grown a _little_ fond of the baker. But he brushed it off and assumed it was because of Patton’s charisma and good character that he had been attracted to him. Maybe attracted isn’t the right word to use here but _maybe_ it might be more fitting than Logan would care to admit…

 

“Patton? I visited him last time I went off to work…”

 

“What’s the harm in visiting him again? You can catch up and just have a chat. Get to know him a little better…Familiarize yourself with your _surroundings_ a bit better…”

 

It didn’t take a genius to figure out what Virgil was referring to.

 

“I don’t have any plans, Vir-”

 

“Not _yet_ , you don’t.” Virgil turned around to face Logan. “But I can assure you-” Virgil used the butter knife in his hand to motion to Logan, “-that you will have one soon enough…Just go and talk with Patton.”

 

Logan stared at Virgil. A part of him was amazed he was taking on his role for him. Perhaps Logan’s teachings were finally making an impression on Virgil. But of course, Logan knew better. He had raised Virgil and he knew every part of him very well - well enough to understand that he was trying to bribe something out of him.

 

“I admire your persistence, Virgil. But wh-”

 

Before Logan could finish his sentence, the guest bedroom door opened. Logan glanced down the hall to see Ethan, which normally wouldn’t have raised too much suspicion but one look at Ethan told Logan that today was _not_ going to be a normal day.

 

Logan had asked Virgil a while back to lend Ethan some of his old clothes, considering that he was never going to wear them again and Ethan needed some semblance of variety in his clothing. Of course, Logan had forgotten what “variety” had meant to Virgil years ago. That wasn’t what had shocked him, though.

 

As Ethan stepped into the kitchen, Logan’s jaw dropped. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d been _this_ shocked at anything but seeing Ethan in front of him was almost like seeing Virgil in his middle school years all over again.

 

Ethan wore Virgil’s old black hoodie and some ripped black jeans. He _also_ wore some makeup on his face, which Logan assumed Virgil had applied himself. Of course, the term “makeup” is being used loosely because really, it looked more like face paint than makeup. Knowing Virgil, it probably _was_ face paint. But anyway, Ethan’s scar had been completely covered with white face paint (that _somehow_ matched his skin tone, who _knows_ how Virgil had managed to do  _that_ ) and Virgil’s eyeshadow had been used _quite_ _heavily_ on Ethan’s eyes. And to top the entire look off, Ethan wore purple contacts.

 

“Virgil, what on _earth_ did you do to Ethan?”

 

Ethan’s cheeks flushed and he immediately cast his head down. Virgil chuckled.

 

“Oh, nothing _too_ bad. I told you I was going out on an outing today, didn’t I?”

 

And at that moment everything made sense to Logan.

 

“I don’t know whether to be proud or concerned…”

 

Virgil grinned. “Thanks, dad. I appreciate that comment.”

 

Logan heard Ethan sigh. He turned his attention to him.

 

“How did he convince you to let him do this to you?”

 

Ethan didn’t respond. He instead looked over at Virgil with pleading eyes.

 

“We’re starting over, dad.”

 

“Oh, is _that_ what this is?”

 

Ethan nodded and shoved his hands deep into the sweater’s pockets. Logan noticed he was fidgeting around a lot but he assumed it was because he was probably regretting his decision and contemplating the best way to escape from the household.

 

“Well, I can now see why you were so…desperate with your request.”

 

Virgil pouted. “It wasn’t _desperate_ , but whatever.”

 

Logan chuckled. “Alright, I’ll make sure to pay a visit to Patton, then. You two have fun, okay? Make sure neither of you get into trouble.” Logan glanced over at Ethan, who was still fidgeting with the sweater. “ _Please_.”

 

“Don’t worry, we won’t. Isn’t that right, Ethan?”

 

Ethan froze and looked up at Virgil. He slowly nodded.

 

“Besides dad, we’ve already made the agreement that he won’t be talking, so if anyone suspects anything, we’ll be fine.”

 

“I sure hope you’re right, Virgil…”

 

**~~~~~~~~~~**

 

The jingle of the bell alerted Patton to the front of the bakery.

 

“Hello?” he asked as he approached the counter. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Logan standing in the doorway, smiling.

 

“Hello, Patton!”

 

“Oh! Logan! I didn’t expect to see you today!” Patton slipped his apron off and placed it on the counter. “How are you?”

 

“Better.”

 

“That’s great!”

 

“Yes, yes it is. How have you been?”

 

“Oh, you know,” Patton motioned to the bakery, “same as always.”

 

“Well, that’s good. I’m assuming nothing new has happened, then?”

 

Patton laughed. “ _Actually_ …”

 

Logan’s eyebrow raised.

 

_Well, that didn’t take much effort…_

 

“ _A lot_ has happened. It’s been a bit of a weird week, really.”

 

“Tell me about it.”

 

Patton laughed again. Logan felt his heart flutter.

 

“Logan, I don’t think I have enough time-”

 

“Sure you do.” Logan pulled a chair from one of the tables and sat down in it. “I’m in no rush. Unless if you are.”

 

Patton shook his head and walked over to where Logan was sitting. Logan pulled a chair next to him and motioned for Patton to sit. Patton heaved a sigh as he sat down which prompted a laugh from Logan.

 

“Okay…where do I start?”

 

“The beginning would be best.”

 

Patton laughed. “Well, I _figured_ that much out. I meant which event to start with…” He sat back in his chair and thought for a moment. He gently rubbed his chin and eventually, he snapped his fingers and turned to Logan. “So, Roman walked into the bakery the other day and he shows me this note that he found in his locker.”

 

“Uhuh.”

 

“And I thought it was some sort of love note or something. Roman always gets those, y’know, it’s common. He’s a sweetheart and charming and handsome, I was used to him just coming to me wondering who was sending him all of the love letters. But this letter was different.”

 

Logan feigned shock. “ _Oh_?”

 

Patton nodded, seemingly convinced. “I’m sure you know very well that Roman is the town hero and he used to fight the villains and everything-”

 

“Wait, did he fight them _physically_?”

 

Patton nodded again. “Not all of them, thankfully! But a lot of the villains didn’t really have morals and so they thought fighting a child was okay-” Patton stopped when he saw Logan’s eyes widen. “I know, it’s crazy! But Roman’s alright, he’s always won his battles and all of the villains are in jail now.”

 

“Well, isn’t that just a happy ending?”

 

Patton grinned. “Yeah, it really is. Of course, the last villain was JOAN, but they weren’t actually evil. They just wanted the attention, so they decided to play the part.”

 

“Well, that’s…interesting. How long did that situation last?”

 

Patton thought for a moment. “A couple of months, maybe. Again, they just wanted the fame so they would send letters to Roman, graffiti silly messages on signs, all harmless things. Oh, I’m getting sidetracked! Back to the letter! We have a new villain in town.”

 

“Oh. And, I’m presuming, the letter Roman received was a message from this new villain?”

 

“Yeah. Roman was, well, shocked, to say the least. But this isn’t the first time he’s received a message like this, so it didn’t bother him _too_ much.”

 

“Of course, I get it. Even so, it’s a little concerning to think that he would be… _accustomed_ to that, don’t you think?”

 

Patton sighed. “Oh, it’s scary alright. I don’t really like thinking about it because it makes me sad…Roman’s like my child, in a way, and I’m sure you understand where I’m coming from when I say that the last thing I’d want is for him to get seriously hurt.”

 

Logan nodded. “ _Of course_ I understand, Patton. I couldn’t even _begin_ to imagine how I’d react if it turned out Virgil was being threatened and then forced to confront the person _physically_ …the thought terrifies me.”

 

And at that moment, Logan found himself overwhelmed with a sudden wave of heartache as he imagined Virgil in Roman’s scenario. It was moments like these that Logan hated, specifically because he had gotten so good at preventing those moments over the years from constant deprivation of human contact but he knew the moments were inevitable since he was still, in fact, human.

 

Judging from Patton’s startled reaction, Logan assumed he looked like he was about to break down into tears, so he shook himself out of it and turned his attention back to Patton.

 

“I’m so sorry, I think I got lost in my own thoughts for a second there-”

 

“Oh, it’s okay! I understand, it’s a scary thought! Maybe I should move away from the topic…oh, the rest of this week! Right! Well, the bakery was _sooo_ busy the day _after_ that note thing happened and poor Roman was stressing out over taking Virgil over to his place for studying.” At this point, Logan frowned but Patton didn’t seem to notice it. “Roman said it turned out fine, though, so that was good to hear. Those two things weren’t exactly the _craziest_ things that had happened this week but-”

 

“Did something _else_ happen?”

 

Patton nodded and glanced down at the ground. “I’m sure you know all about, um, Ethan’s disappearance…”

 

Logan felt his heart rate pick up. “Oh yes, I remember that…Have they found anything new regarding the case?”

 

“Well…not _exactly_. The police - and Roman - have an idea on where Ethan might be, though.”

 

“Oh?”

 

Patton opened his mouth to reply but he quickly shut it and rubbed his chin. “Logan, you have to promise not to say anything about this…If Roman finds out I told you-”

 

Logan held his hands up. “Patton, you have my word. I solemnly swear not to tell another living soul, and that includes Virgil.”

 

Patton let out a sigh. “They’re convinced someone in town is hiding Ethan.”

 

“ _What_?”

 

“That’s what I said! But think about it. It makes sense, doesn’t it?”

 

Logan didn’t reply to the question. Patton didn’t seem to notice.

 

“Do you have any idea where they’re going to look for him?”

 

Patton shook his head. “Roman couldn’t reveal that information to me.”

 

“I see…Well, I guess we’ll all just have to wait and see how this turns out, won’t we?”

 

“Mhm.”


	29. Chapter 29

“Listen, we don’t want to overstep our boundaries-”

 

“But we  _ have _ to find the boy, don’t we?”

 

“I understand that. But we can’t just go knocking on people’s doors and-”

 

“Well, why not? It’s part of the investigation!”

 

“We don’t have warrants! We don’t have any suspects  _ either _ which means we have no right to-”

 

Roman let out a whistle. The two officers abruptly stopped arguing and directed their attention to Roman.

 

“Look, I want to find this guy as much as you do but as of right now I can’t come up with a good plan because of your arguing!” The two officers glanced down and fidgeted in their places. Roman sighed. “I…I might have to call it a day, guys. I just-”

 

“No, no! We understand, Roman,” one of the officers interrupted. “We apologize again for the bickering.”

 

“Yeah, sorry,” the other officer mumbled.

 

“It’s fine. I get it.” Roman grabbed his jacket from the coat hanger by the door and put it on. “Listen, the theory from earlier wasn’t half bad. Maybe you could get a search warrant for that, I don’t know. But, above all else, let me know how the questioning goes, okay?” The two officers nodded. “Alright, then. I’ll talk to you all soon.” The police officers waved as Roman walked out of the police station. Roman did his best to wave back.

 

As Roman stepped outside, he took in his surroundings like he had always done when he stepped out. The street was quiet despite the few cars that whizzed by Roman. Although, Roman had to admit the street looked nicer at this time during the day than it ever did at night.

 

_ I could call an uber…no, I don’t want to go home yet. _

 

Roman yawned and set off walking down the road. He didn’t know where his legs were taking him but he figured he might as well go for a walk to think some things through.

 

_ First thing’s first… _

 

Roman pulled out his earbuds and put them on. They weren’t plugged into his phone but he wasn’t going to listen to music now. He needed to think clearly if he wanted to calm himself down and the music would only distract him.

 

_ Alright…Where exactly do I start? Hm, maybe the theory…interviewing those people wouldn’t be too difficult…unless if they purposely made it difficult to be interviewed but that would be a dead giveaway, wouldn’t it? But what if the person is guilty and they’ve had all this time to prepare for that moment and Ethan’s already gone? The interview and searching would be useless! Ugh, why didn’t they do this  _ **_earlier_ ** _?! _

 

Roman approached the city park and watched all of the small children on the playground. Some of them were playing tag and screaming as they ran away from the person who was “it”. Others were fine playing in the sandbox, albeit some of them were throwing sand at each other. The rest of them were on the playground itself, laughing and running around having fun. Behind all of the chaos was the slew of parents standing nearby or sitting at the benches. Once Roman noticed them, it clicked.

 

_ They were biased…They didn’t want to interview people yet because they didn’t think it was a priority at the time… _

 

Although the idea didn’t make sense logically, Roman felt that logic wasn’t necessary here. He knew enough of the police force he was working with to know what they did and didn’t consider a priority and, unfortunately, he’d witnessed many cases go cold because of their judgment. Roman had a feeling that was exactly what would happen with Ethan’s case, too.

 

_ And even if that was true, even  _ **_if_ ** _ they were biased…I’m no better than any of them. _

 

Although Roman didn’t idolize the police force as much as he used to, he couldn’t find it within himself to blame them for the bias, mostly because  _ he _ had had that same bias when he heard Ethan had gone missing. He had felt guilty about it afterward but he couldn’t deny that the will to find Ethan had dissipated before he had even begun the case.

 

Roman walked past the park and focused on the sidewalk in front of him. He tried his best to shake away the guilt but it had already made itself comfortable in his heart. Every beat felt like a tight squeeze and the more it continued on, the more it brought tears to his eyes. Roman ran a hand over his face and heaved a sigh.

 

_ Focus…just focus on what’s ahead. Don’t think about it, just focus. _

 

Roman glanced up and noticed the mall in the distance.

 

_ The mall…that should help…walking around won’t hurt. _

 

Roman took another breath and made his way down the road.

 

_ It’ll be fine…Everything will be fine, I just need to relax. I’ll be fine. _

 

**~~~~~~~~~~**

 

As Roman entered the mall, he was hit with cold air and loud chatter.

 

_ I don’t know what else I expected… _

 

Roman made his way towards the large fountain that sat near the entrance. He remembered when Remy had tried shoving him in the fountain to embarrass him in front of his crush but missed and ended up falling in the fountain himself. The memory brought a smile to Roman’s face.

 

_ I should’ve called Remy over here…that would’ve helped a lot. _

 

As Roman looked around, he wasn’t sure what to do. Whenever he went to the mall, it was with Remy and the two usually just went to the stores they knew and loved. Roman glanced over at the directory and scanned how large the mall actually was in comparison to the part of the mall he was accustomed to. With that realization in mind, Roman made a decision and set off to explore the mall.

 

Of course, that’s easier said than done.

 

Roman hadn’t even walked a few steps away from the fountain when he stared at all of the stores lined up in front of him. All of them had bright and colorful clothing displayed on the mannequins out front. Did they look good? Not particularly. But they certainly caught Roman’s eyes.

 

_ Just choose one and walk in Roman! It’s not that hard! _

 

But even as he told himself this, he couldn’t seem to get his legs moving.

 

_ Come on legs! Just walk! You’re gonna make me look really stupid right now if I just stand here and stare at everything for an hour! _

 

That seemed to knock some sense into them. His legs started moving and before he realized where he was going, he managed to walk into a store that had an extravagant ruby dress displayed in the center. Roman’s eyes widened as he walked around the dress. Although it wasn’t overwhelmingly dramatic, it wasn’t painfully simple either. Roman couldn’t find the right word to describe its style. Then again, he was at a loss of words overall.

 

He felt someone walk past him and he was suddenly very aware of where he was and what he was doing. He glanced to his side to see a saleswoman leaning against the clothing rack nearest to him.

 

“It’s a beautiful dress, isn’t it?” she asked him.

 

“Beautiful doesn’t accurately describe its beauty,” Roman murmured. “At least in  _ my _ opinion, anyway.”

 

The saleswoman laughed. “I guess it’s my opinion, too, since I agree with you.” She turned to him. “Are you here to shop for a girlfriend?”

 

Roman blushed. “Oh, uh, n-no. I…I don’t have a girlfriend.”

 

“Oh, then for a sister then?”

 

Roman could feel his ears getting hot. “Uh, y-yeah. She…she needs a dress for next week and she asked me to go look for dresses for her so that she could wear one to that event that she has next week…” Roman internally cringed at his own lie. “I am now just realizing that she forget to tell me what kind of event it was.”

 

Judging by the saleswoman’s laugh, his lie sound believable. “Aw, you poor thing. You should probably ask her about the event before buying her a dress.”

 

“Yes, yes I should. I shall be back, then, at some point.”

 

The saleswoman nodded and waved at Roman as he walked out. Once Roman was sure he was out of sight, he passed all of the other shops until he was sure he had put enough distance between him and the store. He sat down on a bench and let out a shaky breath before running a hand through his hair.

 

_ That lie was  _ **_horrible_ ** _ , I can’t even…I can’t go back there… _

 

The thought made Roman frown. He figured he could’ve told her the truth but his panic got in the way and thus now he wouldn’t even be caught dead entering the store.

 

_ That dress was gorgeous, though… _

 

Roman shook his head as he tried to forget the image of the dress. He looked up and noticed the store he had sat in front of. His eyes widened as he saw how  _ dark _ the store was and how secluded it was in comparison to the rest of the mall. The only thing nearby this store was a small bookstore.

 

_ Huh…No wonder I’ve never gone this far. _

 

Roman stood up and looked through one of the store windows. He saw a lot of t-shirts and hoodies near a back wall. Backpacks were lined up on the wall nearest to him and a lot of plushies were scattered about the store. Roman stood back and was about to turn away when he noticed something at the back of the store. Although he could vaguely make it out, he was almost certain that he knew  _ exactly _ what it was.

 

_ There’s only one way to find out… _

 

Roman walked inside without a second thought and made his way to the back of the store. He was only able to make it halfway, though, because he stopped in his tracks to gape at all of the Disney items lined up on the wall and racks beside him. His eyes moved from the Little Mermaid purses to the Stitch wallet to the Alice in Wonderland dresses and it finally landed on the “Hakuna Matata” shirts stacked conveniently next to the Nightmare Before Christmas merch.

 

_ Is this…am I in heaven? _

 

“Hi!” Roman jumped and spun around to see an employee behind him. “You finding everything okay?” Roman nodded. “Cool. Just letting you know, we have a sale going on currently. All of the tees are buy two get one free and all of the tanks and shorts are up to forty percent off.” Roman nodded again. “If you need anything, my name’s Kay.” And with that, the employee walked off. Roman blinked.

 

_ What…I don’t even have a reaction for that. _

 

Roman turned back around and hesitantly reached out to touch the shirts.

 

_ Oh, it won’t kill me to look. _

 

Roman thumbed through them and pulled out a shirt. He unfolded it and stroked the material in his hand. It felt nice enough to Roman. Actually, it felt pretty similar to a Baymax shirt Remy had gotten for him a while ago.

 

_ Wait a minute… _

 

Roman crouched down to reach the rest of the shirts and gasped as he found the shirt Remy had given him.

 

_ So,  _ **_this_ ** _ is where he gets them from! _

 

Roman stood back up and smiled. Remy hadn’t wanted to tell Roman where he’d get his shirts from but now Roman knew his secret (if it had been a secret, to begin with). Roman looked at the shirt in his hand and felt the wallet in his pocket. He could hear Remy’s voice in the back of his head telling him not to buy the shirt, that he didn’t  _ need _ any more Disney shirts and to  _ put the shirt down Roman or I swear to _ \- Roman ignored the voice in his head and held the shirt close to his chest. He could already imagine Remy’s disappointment speech so he figured he’d at least have  _ some _ semblance of self control and only buy  _ one _ shirt.

 

As Roman turned around to look for the register, his heart nearly stopped as he spotted a purple hoodie right on the other side of the rack he was currently standing at. Roman ducked behind the rack and clutched the shirt in his hand.

 

_ Oh no… _

 

“Look, Kayden,” he heard Virgil murmur. Someone walked closer to Virgil and Roman peeked out over the rack to see a guy around Virgil’s height in a black hoodie and some  _ very heavy _ makeup. “If you don’t want to attract attention, you have to at least  _ pretend _ to act normal.” Kayden frowned. “Don’t give me that look.”

 

“You didn’t even  _ see _ me that time,” Kayden hissed as he threw his hands up. Roman stared at Kayden.

 

_ Who is this guy? I don’t think I’ve ever seen him around…Virgil’s never mentioned him…and that voice…sounds so  _ **_weird_ ** _. _

 

“I didn’t  _ have _ to see you,” Virgil continued.

 

Kayden rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “Whatever. What are you looking for?”

 

“A shirt for you.”

 

“Why in  _ that _ pile?”

 

“What other pile would I look in, Kayden? The  _ Disney  _ pile?”

 

“Isn’t that where you get  _ your _ shirts?”

 

“Only the Nightmare Before Christmas ones. The others are band t-shirts.”

 

“Riiight. Then why don’t you just get me a band t-shirt?”

 

Virgil laughed. Roman’s heart fluttered.

 

“You’re not worth a band t-shirt.”

 

Kayden feigned shock and gasped dramatically.

 

“Oh, how  _ insulting _ ! That hurt me  _ sooo _ bad.”

 

“You are so bad at faking emotions, Kayden. Besides, only Roman can do that and even  _ he’s _ pretty bad at it.”

 

Roman frowned.

 

_ I am  _ **_not_ ** _ bad at it! _

 

“Who’s Roman?”

 

Roman watched as Virgil stopped thumbing through the shirts. He didn’t say anything for a while and Roman could feel his heart racing the longer Virgil kept quiet.

 

“He’s…he’s just some guy I know.”

 

“Really? Just  _ some guy _ ?”

 

Virgil shrugged. “He’s not a horrible guy but I’m not friends with him.”

 

Kayden laughed. “Oh. For a second there, I thought you were gonna say he was your boy-”

 

“Don’t!”

 

Kayden’s smile disappeared. He opened his mouth to say something but was immediately shut down when Virgil threw a shirt at Kayden and walked off towards the other end of the store.

 

Roman watched as Kayden stared at the shirt and walked over to Virgil. He slowly crouched down and thought about how Virgil reacted.

 

_ So…he’s definitely not romantically attracted to me…but he doesn’t  _ **_hate_ ** _ me, so there’s that… _

 

Roman debated telling Remy about what had just happened but decided against it. He didn’t need Remy accidentally getting his hopes up over a small comment Virgil made.

 

_ I should probably just leave before anything else happens to me. _

 

Roman stood back up and was about to make his way over to the register when he slipped and fell backward. He gasped and before he could react, he landed in someone’s arms. Roman gripped the person’s shoulders and looked back to see just how close he had gotten to the ground.

 

“Oh my god, I’m  _ so  _ sorry,” were the first words out of Roman’s mouth. He looked up to see who had caught him and gasped as he found himself face to face with Virgil. “Virgil?!”

 

Virgil immediately pulled Roman up and gently pushed him away.

 

“Are you okay?” Virgil asked as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

 

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine.”

 

Roman heard Kayden laugh and both Roman and Virgil turned to see him holding onto a rack and clutching his stomach. Roman’s face flushed.

 

“Kayden!” Said person stopped laughing and looked up to see Virgil frowning. “Dude, seriously?”

 

“S-Sorry.”

 

Virgil rolled his eyes and turned to Roman. “I’m sorry about him, he’s generally an asshole-”

 

“Hey!”

 

“Well, you  _ are _ !” Kayden stuck his tongue out to which Virgil flipped him off. “Anyway, I promise not to tell anyone what happened just now.”

 

“You…promise?” Roman asked. Virgil nodded and held both of his hands up.

 

“You have my word. And Kayden’s.”

 

The two turned to him. Kayden held his hands up and muttered, “You have my word.”

 

“Thank you…”

 

Virgil nodded and Kayden rolled his eyes and walked off.

 

“I should get going…”

 

“Yeah. I’ll see you at school?”

 

Roman nodded and made his way to the register. He was certain he’d never be able to tell Remy what happened. He was also certain he wouldn’t be getting any sleep that night.


	30. Chapter 30

The fire had been an accident.

 

The break-in had not been an accident.

 

When Patton had entered the bakery, nothing had seemed out of order. All of the supplies were intact, the tables were upright, the bread and pastries were still in their cases. So, naturally, Patton continued on with his day as if there weren’t anything wrong. But then as he started to set up for the day, he saw it. He saw what had been left on the tables and called the police. When they arrived, they searched the area and found nothing but the same message Patton had found earlier:

 

**_I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE_ **

 

Although not as threatening as any other threats Patton had received in previous years, the police offered to have an officer monitor the bakery for the rest of the week, just to make sure nothing else occurred. Patton accepted, as he usually did, and no other incidents involving the bakery were reported that week.

 

Of course, the  _ rest  _ of the week was not safe from any other incidents.

 

The day after the bakery’s break-in, the library was broken into. Another thorough search revealed that nothing had been stolen or misplaced. Another message had been left, though. It was scrawled on the librarian’s desk:

 

**_THE PLACE OF SANCTUARY IS NO LONGER SAFE_ **

 

Another officer was placed to monitor the library for the rest of the week. No other incidents involving the library were reported for the rest of the week.

 

The day after the library’s break-in, the playground’s sandbox had been vandalized. No one had noticed it at first but eventually one of the kids playing around asked their parents about the message and the police were promptly called. There wasn’t much to search in the park but it was safe to say that nothing else had been vandalized. That didn’t make the message any more comforting, though:

 

**_START RUNNING_ **

 

No one could decide whether or not the pun had been intentional or not. No one really wanted to find out.

 

After the sandbox came the parking lot in the mall. Anyone who had driven into the lot that noticed large blue streaks but no one thought anything of it at first. It wasn’t until someone thought to actually trace the streaks that the police were called in. There also wasn’t much to search in the parking lot but all of the cars were moved to fully reveal the message:

 

**_ESCAPE WHILE YOU CAN_ **

 

No one was sure how serious to take the messages but there didn’t seem to be any stop to them.

 

The final message was hidden so obscurely that the police weren’t sure  _ how _ the person who had called it in found it. The person had noticed after they had passed three intersections that a random letter had been painted blue on signs. After finding all of the letters on various intersections, they were able to string together a message:

 

**_THERE’S NO TURNING BACK NOW_ **

 

Roman flipped through the file he had been given and set down all of the reports. He looked up at the officers in the room with a frown.

 

“How is this person doing this?” he asked. “Have you checked surveillance?”

 

“That was another thing we wanted to talk to you about,” one of the officers replied. “None of the cameras were working. They all stopped at a certain point and then they return to working order at exactly 12:19:16.”

 

“ _ Exactly _ ?” The officer nodded. “That’s  _ very _ specific…down to the second and everything…”

 

“What do you think those numbers represent?” another officer asked.

 

Roman shrugged. “It could be anything. Could be a birthday, an anniversary, a very obscure code, a time just to throw us off.” Roman rubbed his chin. “This is just…this had to have taken some serious ass - wait, what’s the word? There’s an actual word for it…tedious? I think it’s tedious - some tedious planning, y’know? Like, you can’t just come up with this at random, this takes some serious thought, time, and dedication to carry out these schemes…”

 

“Well, I mean, a person  _ could _ …take JOAN, for example.”

 

Roman smiled a little at the thought of Joan. Joan hadn’t been a horrible villain. They sure provided entertainment for the city, anyway. Of course, that wasn’t enough to excuse them from the crimes they had committed but it had been a short sentence they had to serve. If Roman remembered correctly, Joan would be out by next year.

 

“Doesn’t this sound reminiscent of JOAN’s crimes?”

 

“A little,” Roman admitted. “Although, I doubt the intent is the same…I also doubt that this new villain would follow Joan’s entire villain plan. Besides, Joan literally committed the crimes in public areas during the day so  _ everyone _ could  _ see _ them. This villain doesn’t seem to roll like that.”

 

“Then what should our next plan of action be?”

 

Roman scanned the reports again. “I guess we just wait and see what happens…”


	31. Chapter 31

“Test trial went smoothly,” Virgil stated matter-of-factly into his headphones’ microphone. Logan laughed on the other end.

 

“Did it, now?”

 

Virgil glanced around the hall to see a few kids rushing past him. None of them noticed him. “Nobody will shut up about it.”

 

“Virgil.”

 

“What? I’m being honest, it’s annoying and it’s getting on my nerves and literally  _ everyone _ keeps asking Roman what he’s gonna do about COMSEN.”

 

Virgil opened the door to the library and noticed a few people sitting at the tables, studying. Virgil frowned as he remembered all of the exams he would have to face the next week or two.

 

“Well, I’m sorry to inconvenience you. Although, I shall take this opportunity to remind you that  _ you _ were the one who-”

 

“Came up with the plans and charted them out, yes, I am  _ very _ well aware that this was my doing.” Logan laughed again. Virgil rolled his eyes and made his way to one of the tables. “Anyway, I saw the blueprint paper on your desk. New invention? Or did you finally manage to map it out?”

 

As Virgil sat down at an empty table, he heard Logan sigh.

 

“Well, I was hoping I’d have a new invention ready by this week but I can’t find the original sketch I made of it and I can’t for the life of me remember what it was I had drawn out.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“Also, I’ve already mapped the house out. I had it mapped out the day after you came back from it.”

 

“ _ Oh. _ Well, it would’ve been nice to know that, dad.”

 

“My apologies.”

 

“Anyway, so what’s next? It’s your turn now.”

 

“Hm, well, I’m unsure of how exactly I’m going to beat that-”

 

“I’m sure you’ll figure something out. You always do.”

 

“I appreciate the optimism.”

 

“You’re welcome.”

 

Virgil slowly took out his math book and calculator. He glanced around and made sure no one was paying attention to him.

 

“Oh, before I forget!”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“I found the most peculiar thing earlier…”

 

“You did?”

 

“A three-foot-long python regius was just lounging around the front of the house. Can you imagine my shock when I heard a hiss right beneath me as I stepped outside?”

 

Virgil dropped his book and it landed with a  _ thud _ on the ground. A few people looked up at him. He quickly picked the book up and held it down on the table.

 

“That’s…That’s crazy, dad.”

 

“...You’re not convinced.”

 

“I mean…it’s a little  _ crazy _ to hear that a python was in the front. Did you capture it?”

 

“No, no I didn’t.”

 

_ Thank fuck. _

 

Virgil opened his book and stared down at the math problems. He frowned seeing so many of them.

 

“I didn’t really get the chance to. Ethan saw it and picked it up before I could even react. He’s playing with it as we speak.”

 

“Oh. Well, I mean, that makes sense, he likes snakes so-”

 

“He named it Rosie.”

 

“He did?”

 

“Yes. I thought it was a little peculiar-”

 

“Is it, though?”

 

“Well, not as peculiar as the incident that occurred an hour before that.”

 

“Oh gee, seems like today’s been a weird day for you.”

 

“Yes, yes it has. I found him in the garage flipping through the photo albums.”

 

_ Shit… _

 

“And?”

 

“Well, he found your baby picture.”

 

Virgil groaned.

 

_ Great…I don’t think I’ll be hearing the end of that one. _

 

“Did he find anything else?”

 

“Well, no. He did ask me about the picture, though.”

 

“And what did you say?”

 

“That it was the only surviving picture I had of you.”

 

“...So, you didn’t tell him?”

 

“Did you want me to?”

 

Virgil didn’t reply. It’s not like he  _ wanted _ Ethan to know that Logan was his adoptive father but it wasn’t like it really mattered if he knew. Besides, the whole “starting over” thing wouldn’t matter if Ethan didn’t know the whole truth.

 

“No, maybe not…I’ll tell him at some point, though.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“Don’t worry about it. Just focus on coming up with something.”

 

“Alright. I should say the same to you. But instead of focusing on schemes, you should really focus on your exams.”

 

“Right. I will, dad. Thanks.”

 

The library door creaked open but no one other than Virgil noticed. Virgil glanced up to see Roman fixing his hair and saying hello to the librarian.

 

“Dad, I have to go.”

 

“Alright, I’ll leave you to it, then.”

 

“Okay, bye.”

 

Just as Virgil hung up, he noticed Roman walking over to him. He waved a little at him and Roman grinned and waved back.

 

_ Gee, someone’s a little smiley today. _

 

Roman pulled up a chair beside Virgil and sat down.

 

“Hey, I was hoping I’d find you here.”

 

“Really?”

 

Roman nodded. “Yeah. Listen, I know this is gonna sound dumb-”

 

“Oh no, don’t say it. I can’t stand hearing people say stupid shit.” Roman stared at Virgil. “Relax, I’m kidding. If I really couldn’t stand it, I would’ve dropped out of school on day one and begged my dad to homeschool me. What is it?”

 

Roman glanced down and ran a hand through his hair. “Well, I was just gonna ask if we could have another study session. Although, it’s not for chemistry this time.”

 

“Oh. You know, you made it seem like you were going to say something like ‘I think life is great right now’ or something like that.”

 

“Gee, pessimistic much?”

 

“Always. If you want to be friends, you’re going to have to get used to it.”

 

Roman looked up at him. “Is that an invitation I’m hearing?”

 

Virgil rolled his eyes. “No, it’s not. But if you want to interpret it that way-”

 

“Oh, I am  _ definitely _ going to interpret it that way.” Roman grinned. “Virgil, I am so  _ honored _ to be asked-”

 

“Stop-”

 

“-to be your friend!”

 

Everyone in the library turned their attention to Virgil and Roman.

 

“I hate you.”

 

Roman laughed and gently punched Virgil. “I know you don’t. You wouldn’t be able to sit near me if you  _ really _ hated me.” Virgil stood up. Roman gasped and frowned at him. Virgil laughed and sat back down. “I see where we stand.” Roman crossed his arms and faced away from Virgil.

 

“I’m sure you do. What did you need to study? Math?”

 

“...Maybe.”

 

Virgil picked up his math book. “That makes two of us.”

 

Roman glanced at Virgil’s math book and gasped.

 

“You’re already in  _ Calculus _ ?”

 

Virgil stared at Roman. “Roman, you’ve…you’ve met my dad. You’ve  _ seen _ my phone. You’re really going to ask that question?” Roman opened his mouth to say something but immediately shut it. “When were you planning on having this study session?”

 

“...In a few days. Thursday. Friday. I dunno, it was really up to you.”

 

“Has to be this week?”

 

“If you have time, yeah.”

 

Virgil sat back in his chair and thought for a moment. “Friday’s a good day. I say Friday.”

 

Roman smiled. “Alright then. I’ll be looking forward to Friday.”


	32. Chapter 32

Besides the clock’s ticking, the boiling soup, and their constant foot tapping, the knock that came on Sam’s door was the least welcome noise. Sam got up from the table and approached the door.

 

Of all the questions running through their head, the only answer they got when they looked through the peephole was the most dreaded one. Sam backed away from the door, silently hoping that she hadn’t heard them. Unfortunately, Sam recognized their sister very well, and so the second they counted to five, another knock echoed.

 

“Sam!” they heard Janet shout. “I know you’re home! You never leave your house for anything!”

 

_ That is not true. _

 

Sam stood in front of the door with their fists clenched. Janet knocked again, this time with more force.

 

“Sam! You better open this door right now before I barge in!”

 

Sam didn’t budge. They knew that if they waited long enough, one of the neighbors would either deal with Janet themselves or call the cops to deal with her. They also knew that it would be enough reason to order a restraining order against Janet.

 

Janet jiggled the doorknob and knocked harder.

 

_ Let’s see, attempted breaking in, property damage, disturbance of the peace - this will surely be enough for a restraining order. _

 

Janet suddenly stopped. Sam waited a minute or two before approaching the door. They didn’t dare unlock it but they cautiously looked through the peephole. Janet was gone.

 

_ Cute trick. _

 

Sam backed away and crossed their arms as they waited for another knock. After a few seconds, the front door swung open, revealing a kneeling Janet.

 

“So, you learned to lockpick, huh?” Sam asked her.

 

Janet glared at them. “It would have been  _ much _ easier had you  _ opened _ the door.”

 

“Oh, I’m sure. You owe me money for that.”

 

“I don’t owe you  _ shit _ , sister.”

 

Sam rolled their eyes. “What are you doing here?”

 

Janet stood up and walked around the room, running her hand over the furniture. Sam watched her, taking note of everything she touched.

 

“Where is Ethan?” Janet asked.

 

“Where-? Of all the things you could have come for,  _ that’s _ what you want to know?” Sam scoffed.

 

Janet quirked an eyebrow. “Oh, so you  _ do _ know where he is?”

 

“If I knew, you wouldn’t be standing here.”

 

“Is that so?”

 

“Yeah. You’d be rotting in a jail cell.”

 

Janet threw her head back as she laughed. “Oh, sissy, you truly are  _ something _ .”

 

Sam didn’t say anything. Janet walked over to Sam and towered over them. Sam did their best to not look directly up at Janet.

 

“It’s fine if you won’t tell me. To be honest, I didn’t really expect you to answer me. Although, I will say, the police are pretty close to finding him.”

 

“Are they, now?”

 

Janet nodded and leaned in close to Sam’s ear. It took all of Sam’s willpower not to slap Janet away.

 

“There’s one place the police haven’t checked for him. They won’t tell anyone but I know exactly where it is.” Janet backed away, leaving Sam to stare up at her in confusion.

 

“That doesn’t make sense, Janet.”

 

“It’s private property and even with a warrant, they can’t search it.”

 

“What? That’s not-”

 

“The mayor has to weigh in on the decision to search the house and interview the people there. Want to know the little scheme they’ve planned?”

 

“Scheme?”

 

Janet nodded. “The mayor gave them the okay two days ago and they aren’t going to search it until next week. How pathetic is that?”

 

Sam opened their mouth to say something but quickly shut it. They didn’t believe Janet, not for a second. She was a compulsive liar so why should Sam take anything she said at face value?

 

“Ethan’s there. I know he is. I’m gonna go look for him myself-”

 

“What?! Janet, are you crazy?!” Janet glared at Sam. “Yeah, okay, we both know the answer to that-”

 

“Sam, I wouldn’t if I were you.”

 

“Wouldn’t what? Stop you from committing a crime? Okay, go for it.”

 

Janet rolled her eyes. “I’m  _ going _ to get Ethan back, one way or another.”

 

“But  _ why _ ?”

 

“Wouldn’t you like to know…”

 

Janet turned away from Sam and walked to the door. She stopped once she stepped out.

 

“Once I get Ethan back, I’m suing the mayor and getting out of this goddamn town. And I’m taking Ethan with me.”

 

Janet walked away from the door. Sam listened as her footsteps faded down the hall.

 

_ Damn you. _

 

Sam shut the door and immediately ran to their room to look for their phone.

 

_ You’re not taking Ethan with you. I’ll make sure of it. _


	33. Chapter 33

Ethan heard the front door open. He looked up to see Virgil walk in with an excited look on his face.

 

“Dad?”

 

“He’s in his room.”

 

Virgil turned to Ethan and smiled a bit. (Ethan’s heart didn’t flutter at the sight of his smile. It absolutely did not, he has no idea what you’re talking about.)

 

“Thanks.”

 

As Virgil walked past him, Ethan watched him closely. Virgil knocked on Logan’s door three times. Logan’s door slid open and shut behind Virgil as he walked in.

 

_ Huh…interesting. _

 

He turned to look at Rosie, who was currently wrapped around his arm.

 

“What do you think is going on?” he asked her. Rosie looked up at him and stuck her tongue out. “Yeah, I don’t know either. Maybe it has something to do with- No…No, that wouldn’t make sense.”

 

Ethan thought back to his outing with Virgil. He remembered how annoyed Virgil had looked when he had teased the idea of him and Roman being boyfriends. There was something about it that made Ethan question it.

 

_ Maybe…maybe it  _ **_does_ ** _ have something to do with him… _

 

Sure, it could have just been his natural reaction to romance in general, since Virgil didn’t seem too fond of that either, but then again, Ethan recognized the face. He may or may not have experienced that himself.

 

_ And he  _ **_has_ ** _ been warming up to the idea of being around him… _

 

Ethan shook the thought away. A part of him didn’t want to be right. Call him selfish but he wanted to keep Virgil around for as long as he could. Of course, if that meant getting rid of Roman, well, he wasn’t so sure he’d hesitate to do so.

 

Logan’s door slid open again and Virgil walked out, saying, “Relax, dad. Nothing else will happen, I’m sure. I’ll just be the keen observer I am, alright?” Virgil walked away from the room and noticed Ethan staring at him. “What?”

 

Ethan shrugged. “Nothing, sorry.” He looked away from Virgil and gently stroked Rosie’s head. Virgil approached Ethan, smiling slightly.

 

“Alright, listen. I’m gonna need your help with something…”

 

Ethan looked up at him. “Yeah?” Virgil nodded. “What is it?”

 

Virgil smirked. (Ethan’s stomach did not start doing flips at this exact moment. Nope, no it didn’t, he isn’t sure what you’re insinuating) “We’re going to go on another outing tomorrow.”

 

_ Oh great… _

 

“You’re gonna make me wear the outfit and the makeup again, huh?”

 

“Well, I mean, yeah. Unless if you want to  _ suddenly _ be found by the police.”

 

Ethan frowned. The thought of Janet made him feel sick, more so than usual now.

 

“Don’t you have different clothes for me?”

 

“I mean, the shirt I got you and a  _ different  _ pair of black jeans that  _ aren’t _ ripped. That’s about it, though.”

 

“Did you seriously have to go hardcore with the emo phase?”

 

Virgil frowned. “I was going through some things, okay?” Ethan didn’t say anything. Virgil rolled his eyes. “Are you going to help me or not?”

 

Ethan glanced down at Rosie who seemed to be making her way over to Virgil. Maybe that was his answer.

 

“Yeah, sure. I got nothing better to do.”

 

Virgil smiled. “Good. Now here’s what we’re gonna do…”


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I just wanna say, thank you to everyone who's still reading this fic! This came out A LOT longer than I had anticipated (me being a bit of an idiot, I didn't really plan everything out right and now it looks like this fic will probably be over 50 chapters long....oops) so I'm very grateful to everyone who has stuck around. I wasn't expecting it to get this big but I'm very glad it did and I'm very glad that everyone's enjoying it so far! I have a bit of an announcement but I'll put that in the end notes just so that there isn't a HUGE paragraph in the beginning of this chapter. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

**_CRASH_ **

 

Patton nearly dropped the tray he was carrying. He immediately set it down on the counter and rushed over to the back room where he saw Remy desperately trying to pick up pieces of broken cookies.

 

“Remy, what happened?” Patton asked as he approached him.

 

Remy frowned and stopped to look up at Patton. “I, um, I may or may not have slipped-”

 

“Oh my gosh, are you okay?!”

 

Patton was about to crouch down when Remy stopped him. “Yeah, I’m fine! I managed to grab hold of the table here-” Remy motioned to the table he was currently kneeling in front of and laughed. “-so, my butt didn’t actually touch the ground.” Remy turned back to Patton. “Unfortunately, because I was so preoccupied with saving myself, I let down the poor cookies-”

 

“Oh Remy, don’t talk like that!”

 

Patton offered a hand for Remy to take. Fortunately, Remy took it, and Patton helped him up. He gently pat Remy’s back as he glanced down at the mess below them.

 

“I appreciate your concern for the cookies, but  _ you _ come first!” Remy smiled. “Besides, I can always make another batch! But I can’t make another you!”

 

Remy laughed. “Well,  _ actually- _ ”

 

Remy was interrupted by the chime of the bell. The two tiptoed to the doorway of the back room and peeked out. They gasped as they saw Virgil looking around, seemingly confused. He wasn’t alone, though.

 

“Who is that?” Remy asked Patton. Patton shrugged.

 

“I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him around before…”

 

The two watched as Virgil and his friend walked up to the counter.

 

“Hello?” Virgil asked aloud.

 

Patton and Remy exchanged glances before Patton walked out towards them. Remy watched him.

 

“Virgil!”

 

A smile appeared on Virgil’s face. “Patton!”

 

Patton leaned against the counter with a grin on his face. “How have you been, kiddo? You doing okay?” Virgil nodded. “Yeah? That’s good. Who’s your little friend over here?”

 

Virgil turned to his friend who, seemingly embarrassed, clung to his arm. Virgil turned back to Patton.

 

“This is Kayden,” he introduced, nudging Kayden slightly. Kayden waved a little.

 

Patton laughed. “Aw, he’s a bit shy, isn’t he?”

 

Virgil nodded. “I guess that’s why we’re friends. Anyway, I brought him around to show him the best places in town.”

 

Patton gasped and placed a hand over his heart. “Aw, Virgil, I’m flattered.”

 

Virgil grinned and turned to Kayden. “So, what do you want to try?” Kayden’s eyes widened and he glanced at the cookie display. Virgil turned back to Patton, pointing at the display. “Can I have one of each of those cookies?”

 

Patton nodded and made his way over to the display case. As he carefully picked out the cookies, he heard Kayden mumble something to Virgil, which caused Virgil to laugh. Patton wondered if Roman swooned every time he heard Virgil’s laugh.

 

_ I wouldn’t be surprised if he does! Poor kiddo’s head over heels for him… _

 

Patton walked back and noticed Kayden blushing. He didn’t point it out, though, and instead handed the cookies over to Virgil.

 

“You don’t have to pay for them, Virgil, since Kayden is trying them.”

 

“Aw, Pat, you don’t-”

 

“Virgil, I insist! Really!”

 

Virgil smiled. “Thanks Pad- Patton.” Kayden snickered and gently nudged Virgil. Virgil rolled his eyes and handed the cookies over to him. “Really, I appreciate you doing this. Next time I’m paying, though.”

 

Patton laughed. “I guess, if you insist, Virgil.” He reached over and gently pat his shoulder. “I’m not sure if you were about to say it but you know you’re welcome to call me Padre if you feel like it, right?”

 

Kayden chuckled as he shoved the cookies in his jacket and nudged Virgil again. Virgil glared at him before turning his attention back to Patton.

 

“I didn’t- or well, I  _ was _ \- I just don’t-” Virgil sighed and ran a hand over his face. “I’m sorry, I’ve gotten used to Roman referring to you as such that it almost slipped out.”

 

“That’s okay! Again, you’re-”

 

“I know, I know.” Virgil rubbed the back of his head. “It’s just that…I dunno, I’m not really comfortable calling someone who isn’t my dad, well,  _ dad _ .”

 

“Then why don’t you hook your dad up with Patton?” Kayden piped up. “Then you can call him Padre, or whatever, problem solved.”

 

Patton felt his cheeks heat up. Virgil glared at him again.

 

“Kayden, this is  _ not the time _ -”

 

“Sure it is!” Kayden motioned to Patton. “He’s practically your dad  _ anyway _ , might as well just set them up, get them to fall in love with each other-Hey!” Kayden was interrupted by Virgil shoving him towards the front door. “Stop it, what are you doing?!”

 

Virgil turned to Patton while still shoving Kayden towards the door. “Patton, I am  _ so  _ sorry you’re hearing this right now, he’s not usually like this, I don’t know what’s gotten into him-  _ KaydenIsweartogodyoubettershutuprightnowbeforeIkickyououtthegoddamndoor _ -” When Virgil finally succeeded in shoving Kayden out, he turned to Patton. “Again, I’m sorry! Please excuse his rude behavior, I’ll make sure to leave him at home next time I come around! Also, tell Roman I say hi, or whatever. I’ll see you later!”

 

And with that, Virgil left the bakery. Patton knew his face had flushed red and judging by Remy’s hysterical laughter coming from the back room, he probably looked like a cherry tomato. He slowly made his way to the back and saw Remy clutching to the table as he laughed.

 

“Remy-”

 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Remy shouted as he did his best to calm himself down. “It’s just- What the kid said- Your face- it’s all just-” Remy dissolved into another fit of laughter. Patton buried his face in his hands. “I’m sorry! I’ll stop, I promise!” Patton looked up and saw Remy desperately trying to stop himself from laughing.

 

“Remy, I haven’t seen you laugh this hard since the time you convinced Roman that he stepped on a lady bug when he actually just crushed a red M&M.”

 

That sent Remy into another fit. Patton frowned.

 

_ Gee, I know it’s funny to you but it still hurts a bit… _

 

Patton knew that the reason Remy was laughing so hard was because they had just been talking about the subject a few minutes before the two had walked in. Patton wasn’t quite sure how he felt towards Logan but Remy had said that both he and Roman were convinced that Patton was slowly falling for him.

 

_ Well, if that’s true then I’m not sure how Virgil would react…not to mention how  _ **_Logan_ ** _ would react… _

 

Remy finally got a grip on himself and slowly stopped laughing. He saw that Patton had now crossed his arms and was staring down at him.

 

“I’m-”

 

“Yeah, I know.”

 

Remy stood up straight and cleared his throat. “I didn’t-”

 

“I know you didn’t mean to, Remy.”

 

Remy frowned. “Should…Should I tell Roman Virgil said hi?”

 

Patton gasped. “Remy! You dare to keep a secret from the prince?”

 

“You’re right, you’re right.”

 

Remy took his phone out and dialed Roman. Patton stood next to Remy as he listened to the phone ring.

 

“Hello?”

  
“Princey! You’re not gonna  _ believe _ what just happened…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder how Roman will react... Just kidding, I know how he's going to react.
> 
> Anyway, announcement: School is starting soon and because this fic has gone on longer than anticipated, I know I'm not going to be able to finish it before it starts, so I'm sorry if there ends up being a HUGE gap between updates. I hope you all stick around to the end of it, although I understand if the wait or if the story itself becomes too long for you to enjoy. I appreciate everyone who has taken the time to read this fic in the first place, so, again, thank you. I hope to update soon. :)


	35. Chapter 35

To say Logan felt childish was a bit of an understatement. Of course, that wasn’t to say he  _ wasn’t  _ having fun.

 

At this very moment in time, he held a piece of chalk in both hands and stood in front of the now vandalized back wall of the post office. He hadn’t drawn or written anything taunting - not yet, at least - but it  _ was  _ a little unsettling.

 

Out of the corner of your eye, it looked like a crudely drawn family of three holding hands. But if you stared at it long enough, you would see that it wasn’t quite right. There was a jagged red line drawn between the two parents and the child. The tree that was behind them wasn’t actually a tree, but rather an axe with green chalk scribbled around the blade. If you looked closer, you’d see that there was something else underneath.

 

Logan knelt down and scribbled something under the drawing. He then stuffed the chalk in his crumpled lunch bag and sprinted to the back streets behind the post office. Once he was sure he was out of view, he took out a remote from his pocket and pushed a couple of buttons before stuffing the remote in the bag and shoving it inside his jacket.

 

_ That should do it… _

 

Logan sprinted down the street until he reached the main roads. He slowed to a walk as he stepped out onto the sidewalk. He watched as a car sped down the street with five police cars racing after it.

 

_ Perfect timing… _

 

He listened to the sirens fade away and let out a sigh of relief. He then spotted his car and jogged over to it. He glanced around, making sure no one was watching him, and got in.

 

His phone buzzed. He took it out and saw 4 texts from Virgil.

 

_ Four texts? Something’s not right… _

 

**Virgil:** are you almoSt hOME?

 

**Virgil:** or dONE?

 

**Virgil:** I’m juSt wondering

 

**Virgil:** Honestly, i’m gEtting kind of worRiEd

 

_ Oh no. _

 

Logan threw his phone in the passenger’s seat and the bag in his glove compartment. He started the car and waited until a sixth police car passed to make a u-turn on the street and drive back home as fast as he legally could without calling attention to himself.

 

He slowed down as he got closer to the house and once he made the turn down his road, he noticed two cars sitting in his driveway; one was a police car and the other belonged to the mayor.

 

_ Well, I was wondering when you’d show up. _

 

Logan parked his car behind the mayor’s car and noticed two police officers standing at his front door with the mayor. Logan grabbed his phone and sent Virgil a text.

 

**Logan:** Please tell me you remembered the back windows?

 

Logan put his phone away and exited his car. The mayor and the officers turned to see him walk up to them.

 

“Logan!” The mayor greeted. Logan noticed the forced grin forming on his face.

 

“Mr. Thomas, what a surprise.” He stood in front of the three with his hands clasped in front of him. “I would have assumed you’d call first-”

 

“Oh, well, I  _ did _ ,” he interrupted. “But I hadn’t considered the idea that you wouldn’t actually be home…”

 

Logan refrained from frowning. He knew very well that he had scarcely left his house in the past years he’d lived in the town unless he absolutely  _ had  _ to, so he technically couldn’t blame Mr. Thomas for not having called his cellphone. Yet, he also knew that Mr. Thomas wouldn’t want to be traced if something went awry, which he hoped wouldn’t be likely.

 

“My apologies, I went to visit a friend. May I ask what brings you here?”

 

“Well, we wouldn’t get anything done if we didn’t tell you-” Mr. Thomas motioned to the two officers beside him. “I’m sure you know of the missing boy case, the one who got lost in the field nearby?” Logan nodded. “Well, I know it’s very unlikely that this may have happened but-”

 

“You have reason to believe that he may have run all the way over here.” Mr. Thomas nodded. Logan pulled out his house key and walked past the three. “If you truly believe so-” Logan unlocked his front door and swung it open. “-then I suppose you must search the house, correct?” The officers nodded. Logan motioned for them to walk in. “Then you shall proceed.”

 

The officers walked past Logan. Mr. Thomas stayed put.

 

“You’re not going to join them?”

 

Mr. Thomas pursed his lips. “I already told you, I don’t believe you’re hiding the boy. I know you well enough to know that you would have reported the boy to us if you had seen him. Besides-” Mr. Thomas glanced behind Logan. “I doubt the boy would have enough energy to make it all the way  _ up _ here.”

 

Logan didn’t say anything. He glanced behind him and saw one officer head to the basement while the other went to Virgil’s room.

 

_ They better not break anything… _

 

His phone buzzed. Logan took his phone out and saw a text from Virgil.

 

**Virgil:** Yeah I did. Hope I did it right.

 

**Logan:** I’m sure you did. Anyway, I’ll let you know when I can swing by to pick you up.

 

“Where is your son?”

 

Logan looked up from his phone, fully aware of Mr. Thomas’ averted glance. “He’s over at a friend’s house.”

 

Mr. Thomas raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

 

Logan nodded. “It became apparent that he wasn’t being stimulated enough here at home and having friends helps with that. Along with the fact that, of course, it helps develops his communication and socializing skills.”

 

Mr. Thomas laughed. “Well, it’s good to see that you’re letting loose a little. I’m sure it must be hard letting him leave, especially since you weren’t ever really-”

 

Logan held a hand up to stop Mr. Thomas from continuing. “Virgil is fully capable of looking out for himself and responsible enough to notify me when something isn’t right. I’ve built enough trust with him and within myself to allow him to have outings with his friends and make well enough judgments about said friends. Is there a problem with that?”

 

Judging from Mr. Thomas’ surprised expression, Logan deduced that he had successfully managed to end the conversation. He put his phone away and noticed the officers approaching them. The two avoided looking directly at Logan and simply shook their heads as they exited the house.

 

“We…appreciate your cooperation,” one of the officers managed before making their way to the car.

 

“I’m sure you do,” Logan mumbled before turning back to Mr. Thomas. “Anything else I can help you with?”

 

Mr. Thomas shook his head. “No, I don’t-”

 

Before Mr. Thomas could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by the police car’s radio.

 

_ “Suspected threat from COMSEN, although it is unclear whether it is directly tied.” _

 

The officers exchanged glances and looked over to Mr. Thomas. He immediately turned to Logan.

 

“Well, I suppose we’ll be on our merry way, then!”

 

“I suppose you will.”

 

Mr. Thomas stared at Logan and for a split second, Logan could see the malice in his eyes. But, it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared and Mr. Thomas walked to his car. Logan shut his front door and walked over to his car.

 

As he walked past Mr. Thomas, he said, “My apologies, I’ll move my car immediately.” He didn’t dare look back to see his reaction.

 

Logan carefully started his car and backed down his driveway and onto the road. He watched as Mr. Thomas slowly backed his car out. The two locked eyes and Logan merely waved at him. Mr. Thomas did nothing and drove off down the road with the police car right behind it.

 

As he re-entered his driveway, Logan received another message.

 

**Virgil:** Is the car gone?

 

Logan didn’t reply, but instead got out of his car and walked around to the back of the house. Since the terrain the house was built on wasn’t flat, Logan was sure the officers hadn’t bothered to actually look past the hill the house sat on, which meant he knew exactly where Virgil and Ethan were.

 

As he carefully made his way down the hill, he scanned near the bottom and his eyes landed on the playground he had made for Virgil when he was a child. Virgil hadn’t used it in years so everything was a little rusted, except for the swings and the merry-go-round. The swings weren’t moving, so Logan knew Virgil hadn’t gone near them.

 

He reached the bottom and walked directly past it. He figured the only other place they would go was straight ahead, albeit it wouldn’t have been the smartest place to go to.

 

_ I suppose he and I really do think alike…we both knew they wouldn’t venture out this far. _

 

Logan walked to the small area of trees he had found with Virgil. They looked out of place but Logan wasn’t sure if he wanted to know who planted them there in the first place. And it wasn’t like it discouraged Virgil from wanting to build a treehouse in one of them, which Logan promptly did. It was a little small for Virgil now but it was still cozy enough for Virgil to want to continue using it (which was rarely).

 

Logan approached the ladder and gently knocked three times. When he got no response, he climbed up and knocked a sequence on the door. The door opened slightly and Logan saw a bit of Virgil’s face peeking out.

 

“Is the coast clear?” Virgil asked.

 

Logan nodded. “I can see the horizon.”

 

Virgil rolled his eyes but Logan noticed a faint smile on his lips. He opened the door and Logan looked in to see Ethan sitting in the corner with Virgil’s old hoodie wrapped around him.

 

“Are you alright?” Ethan nodded. Logan turned to Virgil. “Are  _ you _ alright?”

 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just…Just panicked is all.”

 

“I understand. Would you like me to make you some tea or-”

 

“Well, actually, I haven’t taken my medication today, so…” Logan stared at Virgil with wide eyes. “I was going to, I swear! I was going to take it when  _ they _ showed up!” Virgil took out the pill from his pocket. “See?”

 

“Yes, I see it. Let’s go, then.”

 

Logan motioned for Ethan to get up. Ethan stood up and immediately made his way down the ladder. Virgil turned to Logan.

 

“So…?”

 

“I calculated and worked accordingly. I finished in time and was going to take my time getting here until you sent the text.” Logan gently pat Virgil’s back. “The officers said that they didn’t find anything, so we’re officially off the hook.”

 

Virgil didn’t say anything. He stared down the ladder for a bit before shrugging and climbing down. Logan went down after him.

 

“Did Mr. Thomas say anything?” Virgil asked once Logan had reached them.

 

Logan grimaced. “His track record is  _ astounding _ , Virgil.”

 

Virgil frowned. “Was it about me?”

 

Logan sighed and walked past Virgil. “It always is…” Virgil stared after him, debating on asking any further questions. Luckily for him, he didn’t have to. “Although for once, I left him speechless.” Logan turned around and grinned. “You should have seen him, Virgil, he looked like a fish out of water!”

 

Virgil smiled and walked towards him. Ethan followed close behind. “He did?” Logan nodded. “I’m glad, dad. Glad you succeeded in shutting him up.” Logan rolled his eyes but both Virgil and Ethan could see the small smirk that had formed on his face.

 

The three walked up the hill together and made their way inside the house.

 

“So…” Ethan started as he gently rubbed the back of his head. “I’m still missing but we don’t have to worry about them coming back here, right?”

 

Logan nodded as he sat down on the couch. “As far as I know, yes. You’re safe, at least for the time being. I’d suggest you rest for now, Ethan.” Ethan nodded and disappeared to his room without another word. Virgil sat down beside Logan and leaned his head on his shoulder. “And when exactly do you plan on taking your medication?”

 

“In a bit.”

 

“A bit?”

 

“Soon.”

 

“Soon?”

 

“Is Mr. Thomas convinced you’re hiding him somewhere?”

 

Logan shrugged. “I don’t think that’s it. He told me he didn’t believe them when they told him that I could have been hiding him and I think I can believe that much.”

 

“So…What was his actual purpose?”

 

“Perhaps…A part of me believes that he’s grown suspicious of my recent activity. He probably assumes that I’m COMSEN and thus searched through everything to make sure I wasn’t.”

 

“Oh?”

 

Logan nodded. “The other part of me is telling me that I’m reading too far into things…”

 

Virgil slowly nodded. “When’s the next scheme?”

 

Logan rested his head on Virgil’s. “Whenever you think is reasonable.”

 

Virgil hugged Logan. “I don’t know when that will be…”

 

“Then COMSEN will be lying dormant for a while, now won’t he?” Virgil nodded. “Don’t worry, I’m not putting pressure on you. If anything, I had something else planned so if you’d like, I can enact that while you come up with something. It won’t be soon, of course, but it’d still be something.” Virgil nodded again. “Alright then, it’s settled.”

 

The two fell into a comfortable silence. Neither of them moved from their position (not that they wanted to, anyway). It was moments like these that Logan liked the most. Maybe it was because of the comfort he felt in these moments, the sort of comfort that had been hard to come by before all of this. Or maybe it was because he knew that Virgil knew he cared for him without having to actually say anything. Or maybe it was because he knew that deep down, he wasn’t the horrible monster everyone had made him out to be, and these moments drove away those claims and his fears.

 

Or maybe he was looking too far into things.

 

Logan lifted his head and ran a hand through Virgil’s hair. It was damp.

 

“You should take your medication.”

 

Virgil got up and made his way into the kitchen, leaving Logan to ponder.


End file.
